Systems and methods for the flexible access and management of monitoring applications in a network of moving things including, for example, autonomous vehicles

ABSTRACT

Communication network architectures, systems and methods for supporting a network of mobile nodes. As a non-limiting example, various aspects of this disclosure provide communication network architectures, systems, and methods for supporting a dynamically configurable communication network comprising a complex array of both static and moving communication nodes (e.g., the Internet of moving things). The communication network architectures, systems, and methods of the disclosure support flexible access and management of monitoring applications in a network of moving things.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to, andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/355,472, filed on Jun. 28, 2016, and titled “Systems and Methods forthe Flexible Access and Management of Monitoring Applications in aNetwork of Moving Things,” which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. The present application is also related toU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/221,997, titled “IntegratedCommunication Network for a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,016, titled “Systemsand Methods for Synchronizing a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep.22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,042, titled“Systems and Methods for Managing a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,066, titled“Systems and Methods for Monitoring a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,077,titled “Systems and Methods for Detecting and Classifying Anomalies in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,098, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging Mobility in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,121, titled “Systemsand Methods for Managing Connectivity a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,135,titled “Systems and Methods for Collecting Sensor Data in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,145, titled “Systems and Methods for Interfacing with aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,150, titled “Systems and Methods forInterfacing with a User of a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep.22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,168, titled“Systems and Methods for Data Storage and Processing for a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,183, titled “Systems and Methods for Vehicle TrafficManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,186, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Environmental Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,190, titled“Systems and Methods for Port Management in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/222,192, titled “Communication Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/244,828, titled“Utilizing Historical Data to Correct GPS Data in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/244,930, titled “Using Anchors to Correct GPS Data in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/246,368, titled “Systems and Methods for Inter-ApplicationCommunication in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 26, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/246,372, titled “Systems andMethods for Probing and Validating Communication in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Oct. 26, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/250,544, titled “Adaptive Rate Control for Vehicular Networks,” filedon Nov. 4, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,878,titled “Systems and Methods for Reconfiguring and Adapting Hardware in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/253,249, titled “Systems and Methods forOptimizing Data Gathering in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov.10, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,421, titled“Systems and Methods for Delay Tolerant Networking in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Nov. 19, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/265,267, titled “Systems and Methods for Improving Coverageand Throughput of Mobile Access Points in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 9, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/270,858,titled “Channel Coordination in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onDec. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,854, titled“Systems and Methods for Network Coded Mesh Networking in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Nov. 20, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/260,749, titled “Systems and Methods for Improving FixedAccess Point Coverage in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 30,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,715, titled “Systemsand Methods for Managing Mobility Controllers and Their NetworkInteractions in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/281,432, titled “Systems andMethods for Managing and Triggering Handovers of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan. 21, 2016; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/268,188, titled “Captive Portal-related Controland Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 16, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/270,678, titled “Systems andMethods to Extrapolate High-Value Data from a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/272,750, titled “Systems and Methods for Remote Software Update andDistribution in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,662, titled “Systems andMethods for Remote Configuration Update and Distribution in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Jan. 14, 2016; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/286,243, titled “Systems and Methods for Adapting a Networkof Moving Things Based on User Feedback,” filed on Jan. 22, 2016; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,764, titled “Systems and Methodsto Guarantee Data Integrity When Building Data Analytics in a Network ofMoving Things,” Jan. 14, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/286,515, titled “Systems and Methods for Self-Initialization andAutomated Bootstrapping of Mobile Access Points in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Jan. 25, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/295,602, titled “Systems and Methods for Power Management in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016; and U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/299,269, titled “Systems and Methods forAutomating and Easing the Installation and Setup of the InfrastructureSupporting a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 24, 2016; each ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

Current communication networks are unable to adequately supportcommunication environments involving mobile and static nodes. As anon-limiting example, current communication networks are unable toadequately support a network comprising a complex array of both movingand static nodes (e.g., the Internet of moving things, autonomousvehicle networks, etc.). Limitations and disadvantages of conventionalmethods and systems will become apparent to one of skill in the art,through comparison of such approaches with some aspects of the presentmethods and systems set forth in the remainder of this disclosure withreference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a metropolitan area network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5C show a plurality of network configurations illustrating theflexibility and/or and resiliency of a communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the relationships between anumber of components including a monitoring manager, system resources,external sources, and software applications that are being monitored ona network element, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 9A-9B are a flowchart illustrating an example process of managingmonitoring applications in a network element such as, for example, amobile AP, fixed AP, or mobility controller, in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of this disclosure provide communication networkarchitectures, systems and methods for supporting a network of mobileand/or static nodes. As a non-limiting example, various aspects of thisdisclosure provide communication network architectures, systems, andmethods for supporting a dynamically configurable communication networkcomprising a complex array of both static and moving communication nodes(e.g., the Internet of moving things, autonomous vehicle networks,etc.). For example, a communication network implemented in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may operate in one of aplurality of modalities comprising various fixed nodes, mobile nodes,and/or a combination thereof, which are selectable to achieve any of avariety of system goals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e., hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) that may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory (e.g., a volatileor non-volatile memory device, a general computer-readable medium, etc.)may comprise a first “circuit” when executing a first one or more linesof code and may comprise a second “circuit” when executing a second oneor more lines of code. Additionally, a circuit may comprise analogand/or digital circuitry. Such circuitry may, for example, operate onanalog and/or digital signals. It should be understood that a circuitmay be in a single device or chip, on a single motherboard, in a singlechassis, in a plurality of enclosures at a single geographical location,in a plurality of enclosures distributed over a plurality ofgeographical locations, etc. Similarly, the term “module” may, forexample, refer to a physical electronic components (i.e., hardware) andany software and/or firmware (“code”) that may configure the hardware,be executed by the hardware, and or otherwise be associated with thehardware.

As utilized herein, circuitry is “operable” to perform a functionwhenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware and code (if anyis necessary) to perform the function, regardless of whether performanceof the function is disabled, or not enabled (e.g., by auser-configurable setting, factory setting or trim, etc.).

As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in thelist joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any elementof the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. That is, “x and/or y” means“one or both of x and y.” As another example, “x, y, and/or z” means anyelement of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z),(x, y, z)}. That is, “x, y, and/or z” means “one or more of x, y, andz.” As utilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example,”“exemplary,” and the like set off lists of one or more non-limitingexamples, instances, or illustrations.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexamples only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural formsas well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises,” “includes,” “comprising,”“including,” “has,” “have,” “having,” and the like when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another element. Thus, for example, a first element, afirst component or a first section discussed below could be termed asecond element, a second component or a second section without departingfrom the teachings of the present disclosure. Similarly, various spatialterms, such as “upper,” “lower,” “side,” and the like, may be used indistinguishing one element from another element in a relative manner. Itshould be understood, however, that components may be oriented indifferent manners, for example an electronic device may be turnedsideways so that its “top” surface is facing horizontally and its “side”surface is facing vertically, without departing from the teachings ofthe present disclosure.

With the proliferation of the mobile and/or static things (e.g.,devices, machines, people, etc.) and logistics for such things to becomeconnected to each other (e.g., in the contexts of smart logistics,transportation, environmental sensing, etc.), a platform that is forexample always-on, robust, scalable and secure that is capable ofproviding connectivity, services and Internet access to such things (orobjects), anywhere and anytime is desirable. Efficient power utilizationwithin the various components of such system is also desirable.

Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure provide afully-operable, always-on, responsive, robust, scalable, secureplatform/system/architecture to provide connectivity, services andInternet access to all mobile things and/or static things (e.g.,devices, machines, people, access points, end user devices, sensors,etc.) anywhere and anytime, while operating in an energy-efficientmanner.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a platform that isflexibly configurable and adaptable to the various requirements,features, and needs of different environments, where each environmentmay be characterized by a respective level of mobility and density ofmobile and/or static things, and the number and/or types of access tothose things. Characteristics of various environments may, for example,include high mobility of nodes (e.g., causing contacts or connections tobe volatile), high number of neighbors, high number of connected mobileusers, mobile access points, availability of multiple networks andtechnologies (e.g., sometimes within a same area), etc. For example, themode of operation of the platform may be flexibly adapted fromenvironment to environment, based on each environment's respectiverequirements and needs, which may be different from other environments.Additionally for example, the platform may be flexibly optimized (e.g.,at design/installation time and/or in real-time) for different purposes(e.g., to reduce the latency, increase throughput, reduce powerconsumption, load balance, increase reliability, make more robust withregard to failures or other disturbances, etc.), for example based onthe content, service or data that the platform provides or handleswithin a particular environment.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, manycontrol and management services (e.g., mobility, security, routing,etc.) are provided on top of the platform (e.g., directly, using controloverlays, using containers, etc.), such services being compatible withthe services currently deployed on top of the Internet or othercommunication network(s).

The communication network (or platform), in whole or in part, may forexample be operated in public and/or private modes of operation, forexample depending on the use case. The platform may, for example,operate in a public or private mode of operation, depending on theuse-case (e.g., public Internet access, municipal environment sensing,fleet operation, etc.).

Additionally for example, in an implementation in which various networkcomponents are mobile, the transportation and/or signal controlmechanisms may be adapted to serve the needs of the particularimplementation. Also for example, wireless transmission power and/orrate may be adapted (e.g., to mitigate interference, to reduce powerconsumption, to extend the life of network components, etc.

Various example implementations of a platform, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure, are capable of connectingdifferent subsystems, even when various other subsystems that maynormally be utilized are unavailable. For example, the platform maycomprise various built-in redundancies and fail-recovery mechanisms. Forexample, the platform may comprise a self-healing capability,self-configuration capability, self-adaptation capability, etc. Theprotocols and functions of the platform may, for example, be prepared tobe autonomously and smoothly configured and adapted to the requirementsand features of different environments characterized by different levelsof mobility and density of things (or objects), the number/types ofaccess to those things. For example, various aspects of the platform maygather context parameters that can influence any or all decisions. Suchparameters may, for example, be derived locally, gathered from aneighborhood, fixed APs, the Cloud, etc. Various aspects of the platformmay also, for example, ask for historical information to feed any of thedecisions, where such information can be derived from historical data,from surveys, from simulators, etc. Various aspects of the platform mayadditionally, for example, probe or monitor decisions made throughoutthe network, for example to evaluate the network and/or the decisionsthemselves in real-time. Various aspects of the platform may further,for example, enforce the decisions in the network (e.g., afterevaluating the probing results). Various aspects of the platform may,for example, establish thresholds to avoid any decision that is to beconstantly or repeatedly performed without any significant advantage(e.g., technology change, certificate change, IP change, etc.). Variousaspects of the platform may also, for example, learn locally (e.g., withthe decisions performed) and dynamically update the decisions.

In addition to (or instead of) failure robustness, a platform mayutilize multiple connections (or pathways) that exist between distinctsub-systems or elements within the same sub-system, to increase therobustness and/or load-balancing of the system.

The following discussion will present examples of the functionalityperformed by various example subsystems of the communication network. Itshould be understood that the example functionality discussed hereinneed not be performed by the particular example subsystem or by a singlesubsystem. For example, the subsystems present herein may interact witheach other, and data or control services may be deployed either in acentralized way, or having their functionalities distributed among thedifferent subsystems, for example leveraging the cooperation between theelements of each subsystem.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a communicationnetwork (e.g., a city-wide vehicular network, a shipping port-sizedvehicular network, a campus-wide vehicular network, etc.) that utilizesvehicles (e.g., automobiles, buses, trucks, boats, forklifts,human-operated vehicles, autonomous and/or remote controlled vehicles,etc.) as Wi-Fi hotspots. Note that Wi-Fi is generally used throughoutthis discussion as an example, but the scope of various aspects of thisdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, other wireless LANtechnologies, PAN technologies, MAN technologies, etc., may be utilized.Such utilization may, for example, provide cost-effective ways to gathersubstantial amounts of urban data, and provide for the efficientoffloading of traffic from congested cellular networks (or othernetworks). In controlled areas (e.g., ports, harbors, etc.) with manyvehicles, a communication network in accordance with various aspects ofthis disclosure may expand the wireless coverage of existing enterpriseWi-Fi networks, for example providing for real-time communication withvehicle drivers (e.g., human, computer-controlled, etc.) and othermobile employees without the need for SIM cards or cellular (or othernetwork) data plans.

Vehicles may have many advantageous characteristics that make themuseful as Wi-Fi (or general wireless) hotspots. For example, vehiclesgenerally have at least one battery, vehicles are generally denselyspread over the city at street level and/or they are able to establishmany contacts with each other in a controlled space, and vehicles cancommunicate with 10× the range of normal Wi-Fi in the 5.9 GHz frequencyband, reserved for intelligent transportation systems in the EU, theU.S., and elsewhere. Note that the scope of this disclosure is notlimited to such 5.9 GHz wireless communication. Further, vehicles areable to effectively expand their coverage area into a swath over aperiod of time, enabling a single vehicle access point to interact withsubstantially more data sources over the period of time.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, anaffordable multi-network on-board unit (OBU) is presented. Note that theOBU may also be referred to herein as a mobile access point, Mobile AP,MAP, etc. The OBU may, for example, comprise a plurality of networkinginterfaces (e.g., Wi-Fi, 802.11p, 4G, Bluetooth, UWB, etc.). The OBUmay, for example, be readily installed in or on private and/or publicvehicles (e.g., individual user vehicles, vehicles of private fleets,vehicles of public fleets, autonomous vehicles, etc.). The OBU may, forexample, be installed in transportation fleets, waste management fleets,law enforcement fleets, emergency services, road maintenance fleets,taxi fleets, aircraft fleets, etc. The OBU may, for example, beinstalled in or on a vehicle or other structure with free mobility orrelatively limited mobility. The OBU may also, for example, be carriedby a person or service animal, mounted to a bicycle, mounted to a movingmachine in general, mounted to a container, etc.

The OBUs may, for example, operate to connect passing vehicles to thewired infrastructure of one or more network providers, telecomoperators, etc. In accordance with the architecture, hardware, andsoftware functionality discussed herein, vehicles and fleets can beconnected not just to the cellular networks (or other wide area ormetropolitan area networks, etc.) and existing Wi-Fi hotspots spreadover a city or a controlled space, but also to other vehicles (e.g.,utilizing multi-hop communications to a wired infrastructure, single ormulti-hop peer-to-peer vehicle communication, etc.). The vehicles and/orfleets may, for example, form an overall mesh of communication links,for example including the OBUs and also fixed Access Points (APs)connected to the wired infrastructure (e.g., a local infrastructure,etc.). Autonomous vehicles equipped with an OBU/mobile AP may, forexample, automatically move to join a mesh of other network elements(e.g., fixed APs and/or mobile APs transported by various othervehicles), to provide additional connectivity in the network describedherein. Note that OBUs herein may also be referred to as “Mobile APs,”“mobile hotspots,” “MAPs,” etc. Also note that fixed access points mayalso be referred to herein as Road Side Units (RSUs), Fixed APs, FAPs,etc.

In an example implementation, the OBUs may communicate with the FixedAPs utilizing a relatively long-range protocol (e.g., 802.11p, etc.),and the Fixed APs may, in turn, be hard wired to the wiredinfrastructure (e.g., via cable, tethered optical link, etc.). Note thatFixed APs may also, or alternatively, be coupled to the infrastructurevia wireless link (e.g., 802.11p, etc.). Additionally, clients or userdevices may communicate with the OBUs using one or more relativelyshort-range protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, etc.). The OBUs, forexample having a longer effective wireless communication range thantypical Wi-Fi access points or other wireless LAN/PAN access points(e.g., at least for links such as those based on 802.11p, etc.), arecapable of substantially greater coverage areas than typical Wi-Fi orother wireless LAN/PAN access points, and thus fewer OBUs are necessaryto provide blanket coverage over a geographical area.

The OBU may, for example, comprise a robust vehicular networking module(e.g., a connection manager) which builds on long-range communicationprotocol capability (e.g., 802.11p, etc.). For example, in addition tocomprising 802.11p (or other long-range protocol) capability tocommunicate with Fixed APs, vehicles, and other nodes in the network,the OBU may comprise a network interface (e.g., 802.11a/b/g/n, 802.11ac,802.11af, any combination thereof, etc.) to provide wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) connectivity to end user devices, sensors, fixed Wi-Fiaccess points, etc. For example, the OBU may operate to providein-vehicle Wi-Fi Internet access to users in and/or around the vehicle(e.g., a bus, train car, taxi cab, public works vehicle, etc.). The OBUmay further comprise one or more wireless backbone communicationinterfaces (e.g., cellular network interfaces, etc.). Though in variousexample scenarios, a cellular network interface (or other wirelessbackbone communication interface) might not be the preferred interfacefor various reasons (e.g., cost, power, bandwidth, etc.), the cellularnetwork interface may be utilized to provide connectivity ingeographical areas that are not presently supported by a Fixed AP, maybe utilized to provide a fail-over communication link, may be utilizedfor emergency communications, may be utilized to subscribe to localinfrastructure access, etc. The cellular network interface may also, forexample, be utilized to allow the deployment of solutions that aredependent on the cellular network operators.

An OBU, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,may for example comprise a smart connection manager that can select thebest available wireless link(s) (e.g., Wi-Fi, 802.11p, cellular, vehiclemesh, etc.) with which to access the Internet. The OBU may also, forexample, provide geo-location capabilities (e.g., GPS, etc.), motiondetection sensors to determine if the vehicle is in motion, and a powercontrol subsystem (e.g., to ensure that the OBU does not deplete thevehicle battery, etc.). The OBU may, for example, comprise any or all ofthe sensors (e.g., environmental sensors, etc.) discussed herein.

The OBU may also, for example, comprise a manager that managesmachine-to-machine data acquisition and transfer (e.g., in a real-timeor delay-tolerant fashion) to and from the cloud. For example, the OBUmay log and/or communicate information of the vehicles. In accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure, autonomous vehicles mayautomatically navigate to locations without sufficient networkconnectivity, and may act to receive data transferred from other networkdevices within wireless communication range (e.g., mobile APs, sensors,etc.), and to physically carry such data in storage of the autonomousvehicle until the autonomous vehicle is able to navigate to withinwireless communication range of another network element (e.g., a fixedAP, an OBU/mobile AP) having network connectivity to the destination ofthe data carried by the autonomous vehicle, and transfer such data tothe other network element to be forwarded onward towards thedestination.

The OBU may, for example, comprise a connection and/or routing managerthat operates to perform routing of communications in avehicle-to-vehicle/vehicle-to-infrastructure multi-hop communication. Amobility manager (or controller, MC) may, for example, ensure thatcommunication sessions persist over one or more handoff(s) (alsoreferred to herein as a “handover” or “handovers”) (e.g., betweendifferent Mobile APs, Fixed APs, base stations, hot spots, etc.), amongdifferent technologies (e.g., 802.11p, cellular, Wi-Fi, satellite,etc.), among different MCs (e.g., in a fail-over scenario, loadredistribution scenario, etc.), across different interfaces (or ports),etc. Note that the MC may also be referred to herein as a Local MobilityAnchor (LMA), a Network Controller (NC), etc. Note that the MC, or aplurality thereof, may for example be implemented as part of thebackbone, but may also, or alternatively, be implemented as part of anyof a variety of components or combinations thereof. For example, the MCmay be implemented in a Fixed AP (or distributed system thereof), aspart of an OBU (or a distributed system thereof), etc. Variousnon-limiting examples of system components and/or methods are providedin U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/222,098, filed Sep. 22, 2015, andtitled “Systems and Method for Managing Mobility in a Network of MovingThings,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference. Note that in an example implementation including a pluralityof MCs, such MCs may be co-located and/or may be geographicallydistributed.

Various aspects of the present disclosure also provide a cloud-basedservice-oriented architecture that handles the real-time management,monitoring and reporting of the network and clients, the functionalitiesrequired for data storage, processing and management, the Wi-Fi clientauthentication and Captive Portal display, etc.

A communication network (or component thereof) in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure may, for example, support awide range of smart city applications (or controlled scenarios, orconnected scenarios, etc.) and/or use-cases, as described herein.

For example, an example implementation may operate to turn each vehicle(e.g., both public and private taxis, buses, trucks, etc.) into a MobileAP (e.g., a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot), offering Internet access toemployees, passengers and mobile users travelling in the city, waitingin bus stops, sitting in parks, etc. Moreover, through an examplevehicular mesh network formed between vehicles and/or fleets ofvehicles, an implementation may be operable to offload cellular trafficthrough the mobile Wi-Fi hotspots and/or fixed APs (e.g., 802.11p-basedAPs) spread over the city and connected to the wired infrastructure ofpublic or private telecom operators in strategic places, while ensuringthe widest possible coverage at the lowest possible cost.

An example implementation (e.g., of a communication network and/orcomponents thereof) may, for example, be operable as a massive urbanscanner that gathers large amounts of data (e.g., continuously)on-the-move, actionable or not, generated by a myriad of sourcesspanning from the in-vehicle sensors or On Board Diagnostic System port(e.g., OBD2, etc.), interface with an autonomous vehicle driving system,external Wi-Fi/Bluetooth-enabled sensing units spread over the city,devices of vehicles' drivers and passengers (e.g., informationcharacterizing such devices and/or passengers, etc.), positioning systemdevices (e.g., position information, velocity information, trajectoryinformation, travel history information, etc.), etc.

Depending on the use case, the OBU may for example process (or computer,transform, manipulate, aggregate, summarize, etc.) the data beforesending the data from the vehicle, for example providing the appropriategranularity (e.g., value resolution) and sampling rates (e.g., temporalresolution) for each individual application. For example, the OBU may,for example, process the data in any manner deemed advantageous by thesystem. The OBU may, for example, send the collected data (e.g., rawdata, preprocessed data, information of metrics calculated based on thecollected data, etc.) to the Cloud (e.g., to one or more networkedservers coupled to any portion of the network) in an efficient andreliable manner to improve the efficiency, environmental impact andsocial value of municipal city operations and transportation services.Various example use cases are described herein.

In an example scenario in which public buses are moving along cityroutes and/or taxis are performing their private transportationservices, the OBU is able to collect large quantities of real-time datafrom the positioning systems (e.g., GPS, etc.), from accelerometermodules, etc. The OBU may then, for example, communicate such data tothe Cloud, where the data may be processed, reported and viewed, forexample to support such public or private bus and/or taxi operations,for example supporting efficient remote monitoring and scheduling ofbuses and taxis, respectively.

In an example implementation, small cameras (or other sensors) may becoupled to small single-board computers (SBCs) that are placed above thedoors of public buses to allow capturing image sequences of peopleentering and leaving buses, and/or on stops along the bus routes inorder to estimate the number of people waiting for a bus. Such data maybe gathered by the OBU in order to be sent to the Cloud. With such data,public transportation systems may detect peaks; overcrowded buses,routes and stops; underutilized buses, routes and stops; etc., enablingaction to be taken in real-time (e.g., reducing bus periodicity todecrease fuel costs and CO₂ emissions where and when passenger flows aresmaller, etc.) as well as detecting systematic transportation problems.

An OBU may, for example, be operable to communicate with any of avariety of Wi-Fi-enabled sensor devices equipped with a heterogeneouscollection of environmental sensors. Such sensors may, for example,comprise noise sensors (microphones, etc.), gas sensors (e.g., sensingCO, NO₂, O₃, volatile organic compounds (or VOCs), CO₂, etc.), smokesensors, pollution sensors, meteorological sensors (e.g., sensingtemperature, humidity, luminosity, particles, solar radiation, windspeed (e.g., anemometer), wind direction, rain (e.g., a pluviometer),optical scanners, biometric scanners, cameras, microphones, etc.). Suchsensors may also comprise sensors associated with users (e.g., vehicleoperators or passengers, passersby, etc.) and/or their personal devices(e.g., smart phones or watches, biometrics sensors, wearable sensors,implanted sensors, etc.). Such sensors may, for example, comprisesensors and/or systems associated with on-board diagnostic (OBD) unitsfor vehicles, autonomous vehicle driving systems, etc. Such sensors may,for example, comprise positioning sensors (e.g., GPS sensors, Galileosensors, GLONASS sensors, etc.). Note that such positioning sensors maybe part of a vehicle's operational system (e.g., a localhuman-controlled vehicle, an autonomous vehicle, a remotehuman-controlled vehicle, etc.) Such sensors may, for example, comprisecontainer sensors (e.g., garbage can sensors, shipping containersensors, container environmental sensors, container tracking sensors,etc.).

Once a vehicle enters the vicinity of such a sensor device, a wirelesslink may be established, so that the vehicle (or OBU thereof) cancollect sensor data from the sensor device and upload the collected datato a database in the Cloud. The appropriate action can then be taken. Inan example waste management implementation, several waste management (orcollection) trucks may be equipped with OBUs that are able toperiodically communicate with sensors installed on containers in orderto gather information about waste level, time passed since lastcollection, etc. Such information may then sent to the Cloud (e.g., to awaste management application coupled to the Internet, etc.) through thevehicular mesh network, in order to improve the scheduling and/orrouting of waste management trucks. Note that various sensors may alwaysbe in range of the Mobile AP (e.g., vehicle-mounted sensors). Note thatthe sensor may also (or alternatively) be mobile (e.g., a sensor mountedto another vehicle passing by a Mobile AP or Fixed AP, a drone-mountedsensor, a pedestrian-mounted sensor, etc.).

In an example implementation, for example in a controlled space (e.g., aport, harbor, airport, factory, plantation, mine, etc.) with manyvehicles, machines and employees, a communication network in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may expand the wirelesscoverage of enterprise and/or local Wi-Fi networks, for example withoutresorting to a Telco-dependent solution based on SIM cards or cellularfees. In such an example scenario, apart from avoiding expensivecellular data plans, limited data rate and poor cellular coverage insome places, a communication network in accordance with various aspectsof the present disclosure is also able to collect and/or communicatelarge amounts of data, in a reliable and real-time manner, where suchdata may be used to optimize harbor logistics, transportationoperations, etc.

For example in a port and/or harbor implementation, by gatheringreal-time information on the position, speed, fuel consumption and CO₂emissions of the vehicles, the communication network allows a portoperator to improve the coordination of the ship loading processes andincrease the throughput of the harbor. Also for example, thecommunication network enables remote monitoring of drivers' behaviors,behaviors of autonomous vehicles and/or control systems thereof, trucks'positions and engines' status, and then be able to provide real-timenotifications to drivers (e.g., to turn on/off the engine, follow theright route inside the harbor, take a break, etc.), for example humandrivers and/or automated vehicle driving systems, thus reducing thenumber and duration of the harbor services and trips. Harbor authoritiesmay, for example, quickly detect malfunctioning trucks and abnormaltrucks' circulation, thus avoiding accidents in order to increase harborefficiency, security, and safety. Additionally, the vehicles can alsoconnect to Wi-Fi access points from harbor local operators, and provideWi-Fi Internet access to vehicles' occupants and surrounding harboremployees, for example allowing pilots to save time by filing reportsvia the Internet while still on the water.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication network 100, inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure. Any or all of thefunctionality discussed herein may be performed by any or all of theexample components of the example network 100. Also, the example network100 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the otherexample methods, systems, networks and/or network components 200, 300,400, 500-570, and 600, discussed herein.

The example network 100, for example, comprises a Cloud that may, forexample comprise any of a variety of network level components. The Cloudmay, for example, comprise any of a variety of server systems executingapplications that monitor and/or control components of the network 100.Such applications may also, for example, manage the collection ofinformation from any of a large array of networked information sources,many examples of which are discussed herein. The Cloud (or a portionthereof) may also be referred to, at times, as an API. For example,Cloud (or a portion thereof) may provide one or more applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) which other devices may use forcommunicating/interacting with the Cloud.

An example component of the Cloud may, for example, manageinteroperability with various multi-cloud systems and architectures.Another example component (e.g., a Cloud service component) may, forexample, provide various cloud services (e.g., captive portal services,authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services, APIGateway services, etc.). An additional example component (e.g., aDevCenter component) may, for example, provide network monitoring and/ormanagement functionality, manage the implementation of software updates,etc. A further example component of the Cloud may manage data storage,data analytics, data access, etc. A still further example component ofthe Cloud may include any of a variety of third-partly applications andservices.

The Cloud may, for example, be coupled to the Backbone/CoreInfrastructure of the example network 100 via the Internet (e.g.,utilizing one or more Internet Service Providers). Though the Internetis provided by example, it should be understood that scope of thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto.

The Backbone/Core may, for example, comprise any one or more differentcommunication infrastructure components. For example, one or moreproviders may provide backbone networks or various components thereof.As shown in the example network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, a Backboneprovider may provide wireline access (e.g., PSTN, fiber, cable, etc.).Also for example, a Backbone provider may provide wireless access (e.g.,Microwave, LTE/Cellular, 5G/TV Spectrum, etc.).

The Backbone/Core may also, for example, comprise one or more LocalInfrastructure Providers. The Backbone/Core may also, for example,comprise a private infrastructure (e.g., run by the network 100implementer, owner, etc.). The Backbone/Core may, for example, provideany of a variety of Backbone Services (e.g., AAA, Mobility, Monitoring,Addressing, Routing, Content services, Gateway Control services, etc.).

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may comprise any of a variety ofcharacteristics, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, the Backbone/Core may be compatible with different wireless orwired technologies for backbone access. The Backbone/Core may also beadaptable to handle public (e.g., municipal, city, campus, etc.) and/orprivate (e.g., ports, campus, etc.) network infrastructures owned bydifferent local providers, and/or owned by the network implementer orstakeholder. The Backbone/Core may, for example, comprise and/orinterface with different Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting(AAA) mechanisms.

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may, for example, support differentmodes of operation (e.g., L2 in port implementations, L3 in on-landpublic transportation implementations, utilizing any one or more of aplurality of different layers of digital IP networking, any combinationsthereof, equivalents thereof, etc.) or addressing pools. TheBackbone/Core may also for example, be agnostic to the Cloud provider(s)and/or Internet Service Provider(s). Additionally for example, theBackbone/Core may be agnostic to requests coming from any or allsubsystems of the network 100 (e.g., Mobile APs or OBUs (On BoardUnits), Fixed APs or RSUs (Road Side Units), MCs (Mobility Controllers)or LMAs (Local Mobility Anchors) or Network Controllers, etc.) and/orthird-party systems.

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may, for example, comprise the abilityto utilize and/or interface with different data storage/processingsystems (e.g., MongoDB, MySql, Redis, etc.). The Backbone/CoreInfrastructure may further, for example, provide different levels ofsimultaneous access to the infrastructure, services, data, etc.

The example network 100 may also, for example, comprise a Fixed HotspotAccess Network. Various example characteristics of such a Fixed HotspotAccess Network 200 are shown at FIG. 2. The example network 200 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the other examplemethods, systems, networks and/or network components 100, 300, 400,500-570, and 600, discussed herein n.

In the example network 200, the Fixed APs (e.g., the proprietary APs,the public third party APs, the private third party APs, etc.) may bedirectly connected to the local infrastructure provider and/or to thewireline/wireless backbone. Also for example, the example network 200may comprise a mesh between the various APs via wireless technologies.Note, however, that various wired technologies may also be utilizeddepending on the implementation. As shown, different fixed hotspotaccess networks can be connected to a same backbone provider, but mayalso be connected to different respective backbone providers. In anexample implementation utilizing wireless technology for backboneaccess, such an implementation may be relatively fault tolerant. Forexample, a Fixed AP may utilize wireless communications to the backbonenetwork (e.g., cellular, 3G, LTE, other wide or metropolitan areanetworks, etc.) if the backhaul infrastructure is down. Also forexample, such an implementation may provide for relatively easyinstallation (e.g., a Fixed AP with no cable power source that can beplaced virtually anywhere).

In the example network 200, the same Fixed AP can simultaneously provideaccess to multiple Fixed APs, Mobile APs (e.g., vehicle OBUs, etc.),devices, user devices, sensors, things, etc. For example, a plurality ofmobile hotspot access networks (e.g., OBU-based networks, etc.) mayutilize the same Fixed AP. Also for example, the same Fixed AP canprovide a plurality of simultaneous accesses to another single unit(e.g., another Fixed AP, Mobile AP, device, etc.), for example utilizingdifferent channels, different radios, etc.).

Note that a plurality of Fixed APs may be utilized forfault-tolerance/fail-recovery purposes. In an example implementation, aFixed AP and its fail-over AP may both be normally operational (e.g., ina same switch). Also for example, one or more Fixed APs may be placed inthe network at various locations in an inactive or monitoring mode, andready to become operational when needed (e.g., in response to a fault,in response to an emergency services need, in response to a data surge,etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example Fixed Hotspot Access Network isshown with a wireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g.,to one or more Backbone Providers and/or Local InfrastructureProviders), to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevices, and to the Environment. Also, the example Fixed Hotspot AccessNetwork is shown with a wired communication link to one or more BackboneProviders, to the Mobile Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevices, and to the Environment. The Environment may comprise any of avariety of devices (e.g., in-vehicle networks, devices, and sensors;autonomous vehicle networks, devices, and sensors; maritime (orwatercraft) and port networks, devices, and sensors; generalcontrolled-space networks, devices, and sensors; residential networks,devices, and sensors; disaster recovery & emergency networks, devices,and sensors; military and aircraft networks, devices, and sensors; smartcity networks, devices, and sensors; event (or venue) networks, devices,and sensors; underwater and underground networks, devices, and sensors;agricultural networks, devices, and sensors; tunnel (auto, subway,train, etc.) networks, devices, and sensors; parking networks, devices,and sensors; security and surveillance networks, devices, and sensors;shipping equipment and container networks, devices, and sensors;environmental control or monitoring networks, devices, and sensors;municipal networks, devices, and sensors; waste management networks,devices, and sensors, road maintenance networks, devices, and sensors,traffic management networks, devices, and sensors; advertising networks,devices and sensors; etc.).

The example network 100 of FIG. 1 also comprises a Mobile Hotspot AccessNetwork. Various example characteristics of such a Mobile Hotspot AccessNetwork 300 are shown at FIG. 3. Note that various fixed networkcomponents (e.g., Fixed APs) are also illustrated. The example network300 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the otherexample methods, systems, networks and/or network components 100, 200,400, 500-570, and 600, discussed herein.

The example network 300 comprises a wide variety of Mobile APs (orhotspots) that provide access to user devices, provide for sensor datacollection, provide multi-hop connectivity to other Mobile APs, etc. Forexample, the example network 300 comprises vehicles from differentfleets (e.g., aerial, terrestrial, underground, (under)water, etc.). Forexample, the example network 300 comprises one or more massdistribution/transportation fleets, one or more mass passengertransportation fleets, private/public shared-user fleets, privatevehicles, urban and municipal fleets, maintenance fleets, drones,watercraft (e.g., boats, ships, speedboats, tugboats, barges, etc.),emergency fleets (e.g., police, ambulance, firefighter, etc.), etc.

The example network 300, for example, shows vehicles from differentfleets directly connected and/or mesh connected, for example using sameor different communication technologies. The example network 300 alsoshows fleets simultaneously connected to different Fixed APs, which mayor may not belong to different respective local infrastructureproviders. As a fault-tolerance mechanism, the example network 300 mayfor example comprise the utilization of long-range wirelesscommunication network (e.g., cellular, 3G, 4G, LTE, etc.) in vehicles ifthe local network infrastructure is down or otherwise unavailable. Asame vehicle (e.g., Mobile AP or OBU) can simultaneously provide accessto multiple vehicles, devices, things, etc., for example using a samecommunication technology (e.g., shared channels and/or differentrespective channels thereof) and/or using a different respectivecommunication technology for each. Also for example, a same vehicle canprovide multiple accesses to another vehicle, device, thing, etc., forexample using a same communication technology (e.g., shared channelsand/or different respective channels thereof, and/or using a differentcommunication technology).

Additionally, multiple network elements may be connected together toprovide for fault-tolerance or fail recovery, increased throughput, orto achieve any or a variety of a client's networking needs, many ofexamples of which are provided herein. For example, two Mobile APs (orOBUs) may be installed in a same vehicle, etc.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example Mobile Hotspot Access Network isshown with a wireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g.,to one or more Backbone Providers and/or Local InfrastructureProviders), to a Fixed Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevice, and to the Environment (e.g., to any one of more of the sensorsor systems discussed herein, any other device or machine, etc.). Thoughthe Mobile Hotspot Access Network is not shown having a wired link tothe various other components, there may (at least at times) be such awired link, at least temporarily.

The example network 100 of FIG. 1 also comprises a set of End-UserDevices. Various example end user devices are shown at FIG. 4. Note thatvarious other network components (e.g., Fixed Hotspot Access Networks,Mobile Hotspot Access Network(s), the Backbone/Core, etc.) are alsoillustrated. The example network 400 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example methods, systems, networks and/ornetwork components 100, 200, 300, 500-570, and 600, discussed herein.

The example network 400 shows various mobile networked devices. Suchnetwork devices may comprise end-user devices (e.g., smartphones,tablets, smartwatches, laptop computers, webcams, personal gamingdevices, personal navigation devices, personal media devices, personalcameras, health-monitoring devices, personal location devices,monitoring panels, printers, etc.). Such networked devices may alsocomprise any of a variety of devices operating in the generalenvironment, where such devices might not for example be associated witha particular user (e.g. any or all of the sensor devices discussedherein, vehicle sensors, municipal sensors, fleet sensors road sensors,environmental sensors, security sensors, traffic sensors, waste sensors,meteorological sensors, any of a variety of different types of municipalor enterprise equipment, etc.). Any of such networked devices can beflexibly connected to distinct backbone, fixed hotspot access networks,mobile hotspot access networks, etc., using the same or differentwired/wireless technologies.

A mobile device may, for example, operate as an AP to providesimultaneous access to multiple devices/things, which may then form adhoc networks, interconnecting devices ultimately connected to distinctbackbone networks, fixed hotspot, and/or mobile hotspot access networks.Devices (e.g., any or all of the devices or network nodes discussedherein) may, for example, have redundant technologies to access distinctbackbone, fixed hotspot, and/or mobile hotspot access networks, forexample for fault-tolerance and/or load-balancing purposes (e.g.,utilizing multiple SIM cards, etc.). A device may also, for example,simultaneously access distinct backbone, fixed hotspot access networks,and/or mobile hotspot access networks, belonging to the same provider orto different respective providers. Additionally for example, a devicecan provide multiple accesses to another device/thing (e.g., viadifferent channels, radios, etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example End-User Devices are shown with awireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g., to one or moreBackbone Providers and/or Local Infrastructure Providers), to a FixedHotspot Access Network, to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, and to theEnvironment. Also for example, the example End-User Devices are shownwith a wired communication link to a backbone provider, to a FixedHotspot Access Network, to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, and to theEnvironment.

The example network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 has a flexiblearchitecture that is adaptable at implementation time (e.g., fordifferent use cases) and/or adaptable in real-time, for example asnetwork components enter and leave service. FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate suchflexibility by providing example modes (or configurations). The examplenetworks 500-570 may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe other example methods, systems, networks and/or network components100, 200, 300, 400, and 600, discussed herein. For example and withoutlimitation, any or all of the communication links (e.g., wired links,wireless links, etc.) shown in the example networks 500-570 aregenerally analogous to similarly positioned communication links shown inthe example network 100 of FIG. 1.

For example, various aspects of this disclosure provide communicationnetwork architectures, systems, and methods for supporting a dynamicallyconfigurable communication network comprising a complex array of bothstatic and moving communication nodes (e.g., the Internet of movingthings). For example, a communication network implemented in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may operate in one of aplurality of modalities comprising various fixed nodes, mobile nodes,and/or a combination thereof, which are selectable to yield any of avariety of system goals (e.g., increased throughput, reduced latency andpacket loss, increased availability and robustness of the system, extraredundancy, increased responsiveness, increased security in thetransmission of data and/or control packets, reduced number ofconfiguration changes by incorporating smart thresholds (e.g., change oftechnology, change of certificate, change of IP, etc.), providingconnectivity in dead zones or zones with difficult access, reducing thecosts for maintenance and accessing the equipment forupdating/upgrading, etc.). At least some of such modalities may, forexample, be entirely comprised of fixed-position nodes, at leasttemporarily if not permanently.

For illustrative simplicity, many of the example aspects shown in theexample system or network 100 of FIG. 1 (and other Figures herein) areomitted from FIGS. 5A-5C, but may be present. For example, the Cloud,Internet, and ISP aspects shown in FIG. 1 and in other Figures are notexplicitly shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, but may be present in any of theexample configurations (e.g., as part of the backbone provider networkor coupled thereto, as part of the local infrastructure provider networkor coupled thereto, etc.).

For example, the first example mode 500 is presented as a normalexecution mode, for example a mode (or configuration) in which all ofthe components discussed herein are present. For example, thecommunication system in the first example mode 500 comprises a backboneprovider network, a local infrastructure provider network, a fixedhotspot access network, a mobile hotspot access network, end-userdevices, and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via a wired link. Note that such a wiredcoupling may be temporary. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Also note that in various example configurations,the backbone provider network may also be communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network via one or more wireless (ornon-tethered) links.

Though not shown in the first example mode 500 (or any of the examplemodes of FIGS. 5A-5C), one or more servers may be communicativelycoupled to the backbone provider network and/or the local infrastructurenetwork. FIG. 1 provides an example of cloud servers beingcommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network via theInternet.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the first example mode 500(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Alsonote that in various example configurations, the local infrastructureprovider network may also, at least temporarily, be communicativelycoupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof)via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof),the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or morewireless links. Note that the communication link shown in the firstexample mode 500 of FIG. 5A between the local infrastructure providernetwork and the fixed hotspot access network may be wired and/orwireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the first example mode500 to be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network,the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein. Additionally, the mobile hotspot access network is further shownin the first example mode 500 to be communicatively coupled to theend-user devices and/or environment devices via one or more wirelesslinks. Many examples of such wireless coupling are provided herein.Further, the end-user devices are also shown in the first example mode500 to be communicatively coupled to the environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Note that in various example implementations any ofsuch wireless links may instead (or in addition) comprise a wired (ortethered) link.

In the first example mode 500 (e.g., the normal mode), information (ordata) may be communicated between an end-user device and a server (e.g.,a computer system) via the mobile hotspot access network, the fixedhotspot access network, the local infrastructure provider network,and/or the backbone provider network. As will be seen in the variousexample modes presented herein, such communication may flexibly occurbetween an end-user device and a server via any of a variety ofdifferent communication pathways, for example depending on theavailability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network, thelocal infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network). Also forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g.,skipping the mobile hotspot access network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the first example mode 500 (e.g., the normal mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an environment deviceand a server via the mobile hotspot access network, the fixed hotspotaccess network, the local infrastructure provider network, and/or thebackbone provider network. Also for example, an environment device maycommunicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of or inaddition to the mobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in thevarious example modes presented herein, such communication may flexiblyoccur between an environment device and a server (e.g., communicativelycoupled to the local infrastructure provider network and/or backboneprovider network) via any of a variety of different communicationpathways, for example depending on the availability of a network,depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending on communicationpriority, depending on communication time (or latency) and/orreliability constraints, depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network, thelocal infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network). Also forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g.,skipping the mobile hotspot access network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or fixed hotspotaccess network).

As discussed herein, the example networks presented herein areadaptively configurable to operate in any of a variety of differentmodes (or configurations). Such adaptive configuration may occur atinitial installation and/or during subsequent controlled networkevolution (e.g., adding or removing any or all of the network componentsdiscussed herein, expanding or removing network capacity, adding orremoving coverage areas, adding or removing services, etc.). Suchadaptive configuration may also occur in real-time, for example inresponse to real-time changes in network conditions (e.g., networks orcomponents thereof being available or not based on vehicle oruser-device movement, network or component failure, network or componentreplacement or augmentation activity, network overloading, etc.). Thefollowing example modes are presented to illustrate characteristics ofvarious modes in which a communication system may operate in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure. The following examplemodes will generally be discussed in relation to the first example mode500 (e.g., the normal execution mode). Note that such example modes aremerely illustrative and not limiting.

The second example mode (or configuration) 510 (e.g., a no backboneavailable mode) may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe first example mode 500, albeit without the backbone provider networkand communication links therewith. For example, the communication systemin the second example mode 510 comprises a local infrastructure providernetwork, a fixed hotspot access network, a mobile hotspot accessnetwork, end-user devices, and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the localinfrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled to any orall of the other elements present in the second example mode 510 (orconfiguration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. For example,the local infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupledto the fixed hotspot access network (or any component thereof), theend-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or more wiredlinks. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Also note thatin various example configurations, the local infrastructure providernetwork may also, at least temporarily, be communicatively coupled tothe mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof) via one ormore wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the second example mode 510 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Note that the communication link(s) shown in thesecond example mode 510 of FIG. 5A between the local infrastructureprovider network and the fixed hotspot access network may be wiredand/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the second examplemode 510 to be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork, the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Additionally, the mobile hotspot access network isfurther shown in the second example mode 510 to be communicativelycoupled to the end-user devices and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Further, the end-user devices are also shown in thesecond example mode 510 to be communicatively coupled to the environmentdevices via one or more wireless links. Many examples of such wirelesscoupling are provided herein. Note that in various exampleimplementations any of such wireless links may instead (or in addition)comprise a wired (or tethered) link.

In the second example mode 510 (e.g., the no backbone available mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an end-user device anda server (e.g., a computer, etc.) via the mobile hotspot access network,the fixed hotspot access network, and/or the local infrastructureprovider network. As will be seen in the various example modes presentedherein, such communication may flexibly occur between an end-user deviceand a server via any of a variety of different communication pathways,for example depending on the availability of a network, depending onbandwidth utilization goals, depending on communication priority,depending on communication time (or latency) and/or reliabilityconstraints, depending on cost, etc. For example, informationcommunicated between an end user device and a server may be communicatedvia the fixed hotspot access network and/or the local infrastructureprovider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network).Also for example, information communicated between an end user deviceand a server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or fixedhotspot access network).

Similarly, in the second example mode 510 (e.g., the no backboneavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the mobile hotspot access network,the fixed hotspot access network, and/or the local infrastructureprovider network. Also for example, an environment device maycommunicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of or inaddition to the mobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in thevarious example modes presented herein, such communication may flexiblyoccur between an environment device and a server (e.g., communicativelycoupled to the local infrastructure provider network) via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network and/orthe local infrastructure provider network (e.g., skipping the mobilehotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thelocal infrastructure provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network and/or fixed hotspot access network).

The second example mode 510 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, due to security and/or privacy goals, the second example mode510 may be utilized so that communication access to the public Cloudsystems, the Internet in general, etc., is not allowed. For example, allnetwork control and management functions may be within the localinfrastructure provider network (e.g., wired local network, etc.) and/orthe fixed access point network.

In an example implementation, the communication system might be totallyowned, operated and/or controlled by a local port authority. No extraexpenses associated with cellular connections need be spent. Forexample, cellular connection capability (e.g., in Mobile APs, Fixed APs,end user devices, environment devices, etc.) need not be provided. Notealso that the second example mode 510 may be utilized in a scenario inwhich the backbone provider network is normally available but iscurrently unavailable (e.g., due to server failure, due to communicationlink failure, due to power outage, due to a temporary denial of service,etc.).

The third example mode (or configuration) 520 (e.g., a no localinfrastructure and fixed hotspots available mode) may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the first example mode 500, albeitwithout the local infrastructure provider network, the fixed hotspotaccess network, and communication links therewith. For example, thecommunication system in the third example mode 520 comprises a backboneprovider network, a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the third example mode 520 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the end-user devicesand/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the third example mode 520 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links.

The mobile hotspot access network is further shown in the third examplemode 520 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the third example mode 520 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein. Note that in various example implementations any of suchwireless links may instead (or in addition) comprise a wired (ortethered) link.

In the third example mode 520 (e.g., the no local infrastructure andfixed hotspots available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an end-user device and a server (e.g., a computer,etc.) via the mobile hotspot access network and/or the backbone providernetwork. As will be seen in the various example modes presented herein,such communication may flexibly occur between an end-user device and aserver via any of a variety of different communication pathways, forexample depending on the availability of a network, depending onbandwidth utilization goals, depending on communication priority,depending on communication time (or latency) and/or reliabilityconstraints, depending on cost, etc. For example, informationcommunicated between an end user device and a server may be communicatedvia the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network).

Similarly, in the third example mode 520 (e.g., the no localinfrastructure and fixed hotspots available mode), information (or data)may be communicated between an environment device and a server via themobile hotspot access network and/or the backbone provider network. Alsofor example, an environment device may communicate with or through anend-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the mobile hotspotaccess network). As will be seen in the various example modes presentedherein, such communication may flexibly occur between an environmentdevice and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to the backboneprovider network) via any of a variety of different communicationpathways, for example depending on the availability of a network,depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending on communicationpriority, depending on communication time (or latency) and/orreliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. For example,information communicated between an environment device and a server maybe communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping themobile hotspot access network).

In the third example mode 520, all control/management functions may forexample be implemented within the Cloud. For example, since the mobilehotspot access network does not have a communication link via a fixedhotspot access network, the Mobile APs may utilize a direct connection(e.g., a cellular connection) with the backbone provider network (orCloud). If a Mobile AP does not have such capability, the Mobile AP mayalso, for example, utilize data access provided by the end-user devicescommunicatively coupled thereto (e.g., leveraging the data plans of theend-user devices).

The third example mode 520 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the third example mode 520 may be utilized in anearly stage of a larger deployment, for example deployment that willgrow into another mode (e.g., the example first mode 500, example fourthmode 530, etc.) as more communication system equipment is installed.Note also that the third example mode 520 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the local infrastructure provider network and fixed hotspotaccess network are normally available but are currently unavailable(e.g., due to equipment failure, due to communication link failure, dueto power outage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The fourth example mode (or configuration) 530 (e.g., a no fixedhotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without thefixed hotspot access network and communication links therewith. Forexample, the communication system in the fourth example mode 530comprises a backbone provider network, a local infrastructure providernetwork, a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), the end-userdevices, and/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Notethat such a wired coupling may be temporary. Also note that in variousexample configurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also becommunicatively coupled to the local infrastructure provider network viaone or more wireless (or non-tethered) links.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the fourth example mode 530(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may betemporary. Also note that in various example configurations, the localinfrastructure provider network may also, at least temporarily, becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links.

The mobile hotspot access network is further shown in the fourth examplemode 530 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the fourth example mode 530 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the fourth example mode 530 (e.g., the no fixed hotspots mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an end-user device anda server via the mobile hotspot access network, the local infrastructureprovider network, and/or the backbone provider network. As will be seenin the various example modes presented herein, such communication mayflexibly occur between an end-user device and a server via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider networkand/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network). Also for example, information communicated between anend user device and a server may be communicated via the backboneprovider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access networkand/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the fourth example mode 530 (e.g., the no fixed hotspotsavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the mobile hotspot access network,the local infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork. Also for example, an environment device may communicate with orthrough an end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to themobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in the various examplemodes presented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network and/or backbone provider network)via any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork and/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobilehotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thebackbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot accessnetwork and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or backboneprovider network).

In the fourth example mode 530, in an example implementation, some ofthe control/management functions may for example be implemented withinthe local backbone provider network (e.g., within a client premises).For example, communication to the local infrastructure provider may beperformed through the backbone provider network (or Cloud). Note that ina scenario in which there is a direct communication pathway between thelocal infrastructure provider network and the mobile hotspot accessnetwork, such communication pathway may be utilized.

For example, since the mobile hotspot access network does not have acommunication link via a fixed hotspot access network, the Mobile APsmay utilize a direct connection (e.g., a cellular connection) with thebackbone provider network (or Cloud). If a Mobile AP does not have suchcapability, the Mobile AP may also, for example, utilize data accessprovided by the end-user devices communicatively coupled thereto (e.g.,leveraging the data plans of the end-user devices).

The fourth example mode 530 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the fourth example mode 530 may be utilized inan early stage of a larger deployment, for example a deployment thatwill grow into another mode (e.g., the example first mode 500, etc.) asmore communication system equipment is installed. The fourth examplemode 530 may, for example, be utilized in a scenario in which there isno fiber (or other) connection available for Fixed APs (e.g., in amaritime scenario, in a plantation scenario, etc.), or in which a FixedAP is difficult to access or connect. For example, one or more MobileAPs of the mobile hotspot access network may be used as gateways toreach the Cloud. The fourth example mode 530 may also, for example, beutilized when a vehicle fleet and/or the Mobile APs associated therewithare owned by a first entity and the Fixed APs are owned by anotherentity, and there is no present agreement for communication between theMobile APs and the Fixed APs. Note also that the fourth example mode 530may be utilized in a scenario in which the fixed hotspot access networkis normally available but are currently unavailable (e.g., due toequipment failure, due to communication link failure, due to poweroutage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The fifth example mode (or configuration) 540 (e.g., a no mobilehotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without themobile hotspot access network and communication links therewith. Forexample, the communication system in the fifth example mode 540comprises a backbone provider network, a local infrastructure providernetwork, a fixed hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also becommunicatively coupled to the local infrastructure provider network viaone or more wireless (or non-tethered) links.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the fifth example mode 540(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Alsonote that in various example configurations, the local infrastructureprovider network may also, at least temporarily, be communicativelycoupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof)via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network, the fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via one or more wireless links. Note that thecommunication link(s) shown in the fifth example mode 540 of FIG. 5Bbetween the local infrastructure provider network and the fixed hotspotaccess network may be wired and/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the fifth example mode540 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the fifth example mode 540 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the fifth example mode 540 (e.g., the no mobile hotspots availablemode), information (or data) may be communicated between an end-userdevice and a server via the fixed hotspot access network, the localinfrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone provider network.As will be seen in the various example modes presented herein, suchcommunication may flexibly occur between an end-user device and a servervia any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc. For example, information communicated between anend user device and a server may be communicated via the localinfrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network). Also for example,information communicated between an end user device and a server may becommunicated via the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixedhotspot access network and/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the fifth example mode 540 (e.g., the no mobile hotspotsavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the fixed hotspot access network,the local infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork. Also for example, an environment device may communicate with orthrough an end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the fixedhotspot access network). As will be seen in the various example modespresented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network and/or backbone provider network)via any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork and/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixedhotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thebackbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot accessnetwork and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network and/or the backboneprovider network).

In the fifth example mode 540, in an example implementation, theend-user devices and environment devices may communicate directly toFixed APs (e.g., utilizing Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.). Also for example, theend-user devices and/or environment devices may communicate directlywith the backbone provider network (e.g., utilizing cellularconnections, etc.).

The fifth example mode 540 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation in which end-user devices and/or environmentdevices may communicate directly with Fixed APs, such communication maybe utilized instead of Mobile AP communication. For example, the fixedhotspot access network might provide coverage for all desired areas.

Note also that the fifth example mode 540 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the fixed hotspot access network is normally available but iscurrently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

The sixth example mode (or configuration) 550 (e.g., the no fixed/mobilehotspots and local infrastructure available mode) may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the first example mode 500, albeitwithout the local infrastructure provider network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, mobile hotspot access network, and communication linkstherewith. For example, the communication system in the sixth examplemode 550 comprises a backbone provider network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the sixth example mode 550 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the end-user devicesand/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the sixth example mode 550 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/or environmentdevices via one or more wireless links.

The end-user devices are also shown in the sixth example mode 550 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the sixth example mode 550 (e.g., the no fixed/mobile hotspots andlocal infrastructure available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an end-user device and a server via the backboneprovider network. Similarly, in the sixth example mode 550 (e.g., the nofixed/mobile hotspots and local infrastructure mode), information (ordata) may be communicated between an environment device and a server viathe backbone provider network. Also for example, an environment devicemay communicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of orin addition to the mobile hotspot access network).

The sixth example mode 550 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, for example in which an end-user has not yetsubscribed to the communication system, the end-user device maysubscribe to the system through a Cloud application and by communicatingdirectly with the backbone provider network (e.g., via cellular link,etc.). The sixth example mode 550 may also, for example, be utilized inrural areas in which Mobile AP presence is sparse, Fixed AP installationis difficult or impractical, etc.

Note also that the sixth example mode 550 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the infrastructure provider network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or mobile hotspot access network are normally available butare currently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

The seventh example mode (or configuration) 560 (e.g., the no backboneand mobile hotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without thebackbone provider network, mobile hotspot access network, andcommunication links therewith. For example, the communication system inthe seventh example mode 560 comprises a local infrastructure providernetwork, fixed hotspot access network, end-user devices, and environmentdevices.

As shown in FIG. 5C, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the localinfrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled to any orall of the other elements present in the seventh example mode 560 (orconfiguration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. For example,the local infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupledto the fixed hotspot access network (or any component thereof), theend-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or more wiredlinks. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the seventh example mode 560 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Note that the communication link shown inthe seventh example mode 560 of FIG. 5C between the local infrastructureprovider network and the fixed hotspot access network may be wiredand/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the seventh examplemode 560 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Additionally, the end-userdevices are also shown in the seventh example mode 560 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the seventh example mode 560 (e.g., the no backbone and mobilehotspots available mode), information (or data) may be communicatedbetween an end-user device and a server via the fixed hotspot accessnetwork and/or the local infrastructure provider network. As will beseen in the various example modes presented herein, such communicationmay flexibly occur between an end-user device and a server via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network).

Similarly, in the seventh example mode 560 (e.g., the no backbone andmobile hotspots available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an environment device and a server via the fixedhotspot access network and/or the local infrastructure provider network.Also for example, an environment device may communicate with or throughan end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the mobilehotspot access network). As will be seen in the various example modespresented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network) via any of a variety of differentcommunication pathways, for example depending on the availability of anetwork, depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending oncommunication priority, depending on communication time (or latency)and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. For example,information communicated between an environment device and a server maybe communicated via the local infrastructure provider network (e.g.,skipping the fixed hotspot access network).

The seventh example mode 560 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample controlled space implementation, Cloud access might not beprovided (e.g., for security reasons, privacy reasons, etc.), and full(or sufficient) coverage of the coverage area is provided by the fixedhotspot access network, and thus the mobile hotspot access network isnot needed. For example, the end-user devices and environment devicesmay communicate directly (e.g., via Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.) with theFixed APs

Note also that the seventh example mode 560 may be utilized in ascenario in which the backbone provider network and/or fixed hotspotaccess network are normally available but are currently unavailable(e.g., due to equipment failure, due to communication link failure, dueto power outage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The eighth example mode (or configuration) 570 (e.g., the no backbone,fixed hotspots, and local infrastructure available mode) may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the first example mode500, albeit without the backbone provider network, local infrastructureprovider network, fixed hotspot access network, and communication linkstherewith. For example, the communication system in the eighth examplemode 570 comprises a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices,and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5C, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the mobile hotspotaccess network is shown in the eighth example mode 570 to becommunicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/or environmentdevices via one or more wireless links. Many examples of such wirelesscoupling are provided herein. Further, the end-user devices are alsoshown in the eighth example mode 570 to be communicatively coupled tothe environment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein.

In the eighth example mode 570 (e.g., the no backbone, fixed hotspots,and local infrastructure available mode), information (or data) mightnot (at least currently) be communicated between an end-user device anda server (e.g., a coupled to the backbone provider network, localinfrastructure provider network, etc.). Similarly, information (or data)might not (at least currently) be communicated between an environmentdevice and a server (e.g., a coupled to the backbone provider network,local infrastructure provider network, etc.). Note that the environmentdevice may communicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., insteadof or in addition to the mobile hotspot access network).

The eighth example mode 570 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized forgathering and/or serving data (e.g., in a delay-tolerant networkingscenario), providing peer-to-peer communication through the mobilehotspot access network (e.g., between clients of a single Mobile AP,between clients of respective different Mobile APs, etc.), etc. Inanother example scenario, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized ina scenario in which vehicle-to-vehicle communications are prioritizedabove vehicle-to-infrastructure communications. In yet another examplescenario, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized in a scenario inwhich all infrastructure access is lost (e.g., in tunnels, parkinggarages, etc.).

Note also that the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the backbone provider network, local infrastructure providernetwork, and/or fixed hotspot access network are normally available butare currently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

As shown and discussed herein, it is beneficial to have a genericplatform that allows multi-mode communications of multiple users ormachines within different environments, using multiple devices withmultiple technologies, connected to multiple moving/static things withmultiple technologies, forming wireless (mesh) hotspot networks overdifferent environments, connected to multiple wired/wirelessinfrastructure/network backbone providers, ultimately connected to theInternet, Cloud or private network infrastructure.

FIG. 6 shows yet another block diagram of an example networkconfiguration, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example network 600 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example methods, systems, networks and/ornetwork components 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500-570, discussed herein.Notably, the example network 600 shows a plurality of Mobile APs (orOBUs), each communicatively coupled to a Fixed AP (or RSU), where eachMobile AP may provide network access to a vehicle network (e.g.,comprising other vehicles or vehicle networks, user devices, sensordevices, etc.).

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an example communication network 700, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The examplenetwork 700 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with theother example methods, networks, and/or network components 100-600, 800,and 1900 discussed herein. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the network 700includes a number of network components (e.g., cloud 760; vehicles 741,742; access points 726, 737, 738; and mobility controller 735). Thevehicles 741, 742; access points 726, 737, 738; and mobility controller735 each contain what may be referred to herein as a “network unit”(NU), represented in FIG. 7 as having respective NUs. In the context ofa vehicle, the NU may be part of, for example, an OBU, a mobile AP, andan MC, as previously described above, and may also be referred to hereinas a “network element” or a “node.”

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, the mobileNUs may have a number of communication interfaces for various wired andwireless communication protocols, and may have access to a number ofcommunication methodologies including, for example, a “DIRECT”communication methodology that involves direct communication with thedestination entity, an “OPPORTUNISTIC” communication methodology thatcommunicates with the destination entity only when one specificcommunication technology is available (e.g., one of direct short-rangecommunication (DSRC) connectivity to a specific access-point, Bluetoothwireless connectivity, or cellular connectively), and an “EPIDEMIC”communication methodology that may deliver the message to the nextavailable networking neighbor of the entity sending a message. Thenetworking neighbor that received the message is then responsible forcontinuing the delivery of the message to its own neighbor node(s),thereby transporting the message through various network entities untilthe final destination is reached. In accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure, NUs that are “fixed” rather than “mobile” may beconfigured to rely on “DIRECT” communication methodologies. Additionaldetails of communication methodologies may be found, for example, inU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/272,750, entitled “Systemsand Methods for Remote Software Update and Distribution in a Network ofMoving Things,” Attorney Docket No. 60271US01, filed Dec. 30, 2015; andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/278,662, entitled “Systemsand Methods for Remote Configuration Update and Distribution in aNetwork of Moving Things,” Attorney Docket No. 60272US01, filed Jan. 14,2016, the complete subject matter of each of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference, in its respective entirety.

A network of moving things in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure is able to communicate data with both mobile andfixed NUs. For example, the mobile NUs 724, 725 in their respectivevehicles 742, 741 of FIG. 7 may not have continuous access to orcommunication with the data storage of cloud 760. In accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure, such mobile NUs may leverageany existing communication connections that are available such as, forexample, cellular, DSRC, or other suitable communication technology. Inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, mobile NUssuch as, for example, the NUs 725, 724 of their respective vehicles 741,742 of FIG. 7 may, for example, communicate with fixed NUs such as, forexample, the NUs 753, 737, 738 of FIG. 7, using the EPIDEMICcommunication methodology, described above.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, varioussensors (e.g., sensors connected to NU 730) may not have direct accessto or be in communication with the data storage of the cloud 760, andtherefore may leverage the connectivity provided by an NU such as, forexample, the “relay” NU 724 of vehicle 742, to which they may connect.Such relay NUs (RNUs) may communicate with any such sensors, in order toenable any such sensors to communicate sensor data with, for example,the cloud 760.

The ever growing volume of information generated by the huge variety ofconnected devices raises constant challenges in providing reliabletransport for that data. Within a few years, with the continuedproliferation of the Internet of Things and further deployment of smartsensors, the transportation of the growing volume of data generated bysuch devices will present a tremendous challenge not only in terms ofthe amount of bandwidth required, but also with regard to connectivitycosts.

A network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,which may be referred to herein as the “Internet of Moving Things”(IoMT), provides a platform that is highly optimized for the transportof data generated by, for example, various sensors in the area served bysuch a network, in a very scalable way. Additional details regardinginterfacing among sensors and a network in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure may be found, for example, in U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/222,135, entitled “Systems andMethods for Collecting Sensor Data in a Network of Moving Things,”Attorney Docket No. 60034US01, filed Sep. 22, 2015. Additional detailsregarding adapting the granularity, bandwidth, and priority of sensingand disseminating data may be found, for example, in U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/253,249, entitled “Systems and Methods forOptimizing Data Gathering in a Network of Moving Things,” AttorneyDocket No. 60195US01, filed Nov. 10, 2015. The complete subject matterof each of the above-identified provisional patent applications ishereby incorporated herein by reference, in its respective entirety.

All of the data collected by elements in a network of moving things ispotentially valuable for a wide variety of applications and insights,most of which are yet to be discovered. End-to-end data integrity isimportant in any network, and is particularly so in a network such asthe IoMT of the present disclosure, considering the variety of elementsand processes involved in its acquisition. At the present time, just asmall fraction of the data collected from connected devices is actuallybeing used. However, network support for the collection of highdefinition data is of increasing importance. A network in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure provides the foundationsfor an analytics system that uses collected sensor and other data toprovide, for example, optimizations and predictions in a wide variety ofdifferent areas (e.g., transportation, environment, and/orcommunication).

The mobile and dynamic network infrastructure that provides support fora network of moving things such as that described herein may provide aninterface for a number of clients/customers/users such as, for example,third-parties that wish to test their own applications, vehicle fleetoperators that desire to deploy their own fully-managed services tocontrol and manage their fleets, and telecommunication network (telco)operators that want to expand their infrastructure (e.g., fiberinfrastructure, cellular infrastructure, etc.). Because a network ofmoving things according to various aspects of the present disclosure maybe used by a wide variety of different entities and applied for numerousapplications and purposes, the operation of such a network may usepolicies to, for example, control access to the network by each of theclients, and manage the use of the applications that are employed tomonitor, diagnose, and survey the status of the network elements and ofthe network environment. Such software applications that monitor andsurvey the network include, by way of example and not limitation,software applications that monitor the status of the critical hardwaremodules and system software applications to enable corrective action canto be taken when abnormal behavior is detected, software applicationsthat monitor network behavior to understand and evaluate how the networkis working and to diagnose possible problems, and software applicationsthat perform surveys/studies in the network to gather information fromthe network to help in deploying and configuring the network in anoptimal way. Such monitoring may be particularly critical in regard tomonitoring of the behavior and operation of autonomous vehicles. Thevarious software applications that may run on a node or network elementof the present disclosure may, by way of example and not limitation, besupported by an operating system (OS, O/S) such as, for example, aMicrosoft Windows® operating system from Microsoft Corporation; a Linux®operating system as developed under the sponsorship of the LinuxFoundation or any variants; and/or an Android® operating system byGoogle, Inc. or any variants; or any other suitable operating systems.

Execution of such software applications by various network elements mayinvolve access to shared data available in the system (e.g., informationabout neighboring network elements, information about central processingunit (CPU) load, information characterizing/identifying availablesensing, communication, storage, or other technologies of a networkelement), and/or access to particular sources of information (e.g.,Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)/Global Positioning System(GPS) receivers, OBD2 information, etc.). Execution of such softwareapplications by network elements may also involve the use of certainlevels of resources (e.g., a minimum/desired amount of bandwidthused/needed to send data to, e.g., the Cloud; the amount of memoryneeded (e.g., disk space, flash memory, random access read/write memory,etc.), and each software application may be assigned a priority that maybe used to determine whether the software application should run, or notrun, when other software applications having their own assignedpriorities are also present on a network element. Each softwareapplication may have a different mode of operation (e.g., may use aparticular level of resources (e.g., a certain amount of data storage),or may have a certain length sampling period), and in accordance withaspect of the present disclosure may be dynamically configured andadapted on-demand. In addition, such software applications may receiveinputs/data from a client/customer/user system external to the networkdescribed herein (e.g., using an API accessible, for example, locally orfrom the Cloud) that may, for example, affect the modes ofmonitoring/surveying performed by the software application. A network ofmoving things in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure maydecide whether such received inputs/data will be applied or enforced inthe network, because more than one external source or entity may providesuch inputs/data.

A network of moving things in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure enables the smooth and harmonized coexistence of avariety of software applications that perform monitoring in a highlydynamic and moving environment based on, for example, the contextinformation of the system itself and also the context of the vehicle(s)on which network elements are located (e.g., automobiles, taxis, trains,vans, buses, and/or autonomous vehicles of all types, etc.). Softwareapplications that may be present on a network element (e.g., a mobileAP, a fixed AP, an MC/NC, etc.) include, by way of example and notlimitation, system applications that perform basic functionality of thenetwork element; monitoring applications that monitor various aspects ofnetwork element operation, status, and context; and client applicationsthat perform functions specific to a client/customer of a networkaccording to the present disclosure. A network system in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure automatically adapts, for example, theassigned priority, the levels of assigned physical interfaces(PHY)/communication resources, the periods of time that the softwareapplication is active and inactive (e.g., turn-on/turn-off), the modesof operation of the software application, and the status of eachmonitoring application. Such a system may adapt the granularity,sampling period, type of data, and the resources used by differentmonitoring applications, and may prioritize software applications thatperform monitoring and surveying, one over another, as well as withrespect to the client's services and software applications running on anetwork element (e.g., Internet access, data acquisition, etc.) such as,for example, a mobile AP, fixed AP, or MC. Autonomous vehicles mayemploy monitoring applications not needed in vehicles having a humanoperator including, for example, applications that automatically monitorfor close encounters or collisions of the autonomous vehicle with othervehicles, with objects along a travel route, and/or with pedestrians andbicycles. In this manner, a network of moving things in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure may provide improved handlingof the volatility of the resources and high mobility of nodes of thenetwork.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the relationships between anumber of components including a monitoring manager 820, systemresources 810, external sources 830, and software applications 840 thatare being monitored on a network element, in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure. As shown in the illustration of FIG.8, different types of monitoring applications (apps) may be configuredon a network element such as, for example, a mobile access point (AP) tofeed different services built on top of a network of moving things inaccordance with the present disclosure. The monitoring applications(apps) 840 of the example shown in FIG. 8 include three types ofmonitoring apps: critical apps 841, event apps 842, and surveying apps843. Additional information about the operation and behavior of theexample monitoring apps 840 is provided below. It should be noted thatalthough each type of monitoring apps 840 is shown as a single entity,the critical apps 841, the event apps 842, and the surveying apps 843may each comprise one or more applications of the respective type ofsoftware application.

The critical apps 841 of FIG. 8 may, for example, continually monitorthe health of critical system modules/devices of the network element, aswell as periodically inspect/verify the integrity of systemapplications, to guarantee the proper functioning of, by way of exampleand not limitation, a main base system, an operating system (OS), etc.,of the network element. Monitoring applications such as critical apps841 may, by way of example and not limitation, be responsible forrestarting certain system modules or applications when a problem oranomaly is detected. In addition, the critical apps 841 may monitorvarious systems unique to autonomous vehicles including a navigationsystem, and various sensors (e.g., road obstruction, pedestrianrecognition, vehicle impact, passenger emergency, vehicle systemfailure, etc.) that may need to be monitored, and various parameters andevents reported.

The event-based apps 842 shown in FIG. 8 may, for example, generate,aggregate, and send events characterizing the functionality of thesystem of the network element, of the client software applicationspresent on the network element, and of the occurrence of particularexpected/unexpected events. Such events may include, by way of exampleand not limitation, a reboot/restart of the network element, a change ofcommunication connection, a change of point of attachment of the networkelement to an external network (e.g., the Internet), arrival at aspecific geographic/physical location, a detection that no wirelessusers (e.g., that no Wi-Fi users) are presently connected to an accesspoint (AP) provided by the network element, and/or a restart oroccurrence of an error of a specific system application, etc. Monitoringapplications such as event-based apps 842 are an important component ofa network element, in that they collect various parameters used todetect, diagnose, and analyze problems, exceptions, and edge-casesinvolving a particular network element, or the network of the presentdisclosure as a whole.

The surveying apps 843 shown in the example of FIG. 8 may, for example,sense and collect location-based, time-based, and/or node-based data(e.g., information from new fixed APs, signal quality of the wirelessconnections at a particular location and time-of-day, packet lossesduring certain period of the day, number of neighboring nodes seen byparticular network elements, number of users accessing a particular nodeor nodes, etc.) from various network elements (e.g., a mobile AP), toenable optimization/tuning of the configurations of some softwareapplications running on, for example, a mobile AP (e.g., softwareapplications related to connection management, transport management,and/or interference management), and to calibrate, for example, thegeographic positions of fixed APs and/or antennas, to achieve betteroverall coverage/throughput of the network. Software applications suchas surveying apps 843 are an important element that may periodically runin order to feed learning approaches with more real world measurementsof the system. The term “learning approaches” may be used herein torefer to algorithms/simulations/tests that may be run on the Cloud-basedsystem of the present disclosure, to aid in optimizing the way thenetwork is behaving, or the mobile APs are working, for example. Datagenerated by the surveying apps 843 may, for example, be used byCloud-based system to emulate network behavior.

A network element in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure may comprise a source of information external to a networkelement such as, for example, the external sources 830 component, shownin FIG. 8. The external sources 830 component of the example of FIG. 8illustrates two possible external sources of information, e.g., a sourceof information 831 and a type of context 832, which may trigger theadaptation of functionality of the system of a network element (e.g., amobile AP), to enable access to and use of different monitoringapplications. For example, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure, the appearance (i.e., detection) of a specificsensor or device (e.g., a camera, display screen, environmental sensor)in the neighborhood/proximity of a network element (e.g., a mobile AP)may trigger an action by the mobile AP. In some instances, actions maybe sent to the mobile APs and fixed APs through the Cloud, and may betriggered either automatically, or by a client/customer/user using anAPI. As another example, a first AP (e.g., a mobile or fixed AP) in theneighborhood/proximity of a second AP (e.g., a mobile AP) may ask thesecond AP (e.g., the mobile AP) to run a specific local softwareapplication in order to gather and re-distribute important localknowledge such as, by way of example and not limitation, the signalquality of wireless connections or the available number of neighbors orconnected users. Such information may be important to feed localapplications from others/external sources. In addition, a networkelement such as, for example, a mobile AP may, for example, locallychange its own configuration and/or mode of operation of the monitoringapplications on the mobile AP, based on the current status (e.g., CPUload, running applications, resources in use (e.g., amount of memory inuse), etc.) of the mobile AP. In some cases, for example, Wi-Fi clientsconnected to a mobile AP may wish to know local statistics (e.g., numberof connected users, aggregate bandwidth/bit rate now in use) from thesoftware application of the mobile AP providing Wi-Fi service.

The external sources 830 component of the example of FIG. 8 alsoincludes information regarding a type of context 832. A vehicularenvironment of a network of moving things in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure may have many particularities/contextvariables that affect the management of monitoring applications such as,for example, a change of configuration, the adaptation by a networkelement of its working mode, or the priority assigned to each softwareapplication. There are many examples of such particularities/contextvariables in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

For example, the speed or direction of the vehicle on which the networkelement (e.g., a mobile AP) is located may be such particularities orcontext variables that affect management of monitoring applications. Atcertain speeds, execution of particular software applications may not beallowed, required, and/or needed on certain network nodes/networkelements. In addition, when two nodes/network elements (e.g., two mobileAPs) are briefly neighbors but are moving at very different speeds or indifferent directions, even when on the same road, it may not make senseand resources may be wasted, if a local monitoring application istriggered to run in those two nodes/network elements.

The path or route of the vehicle on which the network element (e.g., amobile AP) is located may also be a particularity or context variablethat affects management of monitoring applications. Some monitoringapplications may only be run when certain network elements (e.g.,certain mobile APs) are travelling along specific streets.

The time of the day may be another such particularity or contextvariable that affects management of monitoring applications. It may bethe intention of a client/customer/user or network operator thatparticular monitoring applications should be only run at specifictimes/hours of a day, or during certain portions of a day. For example,the client/customer/user or system operator may wish to monitor theoccupancy or radio frequency signal strength of some or all of thewireless networks in use by a network element during “rush hour,” whenvehicular traffic is at a peak.

The geographic location of a network element may also be a particularityor context variable that affects management of monitoring applications.In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, monitoringapplications may be run only when network elements (e.g., mobile APs)are travelling in specific geographic locations or regions. In such asituation, the management of such software applications involvesknowledge and use of the physical location of each network element beingmonitored.

The number of neighbors of a network element may be a particularity orcontext variable that affects management of monitoring applications. Insome cases, a monitoring application may only be run when networkelements (e.g., mobile APs) are surrounded by a certain number ofneighbor network elements such as, for example, fixed APs, mobile APs,NCs/MCs, and/or various types of sensors.

The runtime of the vehicle in which a network element is located may bea particularity or context variable that affects management ofmonitoring applications. In accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure, monitoring applications may only run after thenetwork element (e.g., a mobile AP) has been running for a certainamount of time.

The expected contact time with neighboring network elements may be aparticularity or context variable that affects management of monitoringapplications. In some situations, monitoring applications of a networkelement (e.g., a mobile AP) may only run when the network elementdetermines that the network element will be in contact (i.e., able towirelessly communicate) with a specific second network element (e.g., aparticular mobile AP or sensor) for more than a predefined amount oftime. For example, a first network element (e.g., an NU or a mobile AP)may determine that it will be within radio communication (e.g., Wi-Fi,DSRC, Zigbee, Bluetooth) range of a second network element for onlythree seconds starting in seven seconds. The software application maythen determine that three seconds of communication is adequate for itsneeds, using the expected contact time.

The expected occurrence of line-of-sight (LOS) communication conditionsand non-line-of-sight (NLOS) communication conditions (i.e., theexistence of known obstructions to wireless, e.g., radio, communication)may be a particularity or context variable that affects management ofmonitoring applications. For example, in some cases, it may be desirableor required that certain monitoring applications run only when a networkelement (e.g., a mobile AP) is travelling on a section of road withoutline-of-sight obstructions.

The identity of the entity that performed the request may be aparticularity or context variable that affects management of monitoringapplications. For example, in some instances, monitoring applicationsmay only be run when requested by specific entities, either locally orthrough the Cloud, and that those monitoring application not bepermitted to run when requested by other entities.

The type of AP (e.g., mobile AP, fixed AP) may be an additionalparticularity or context variable that affects management of monitoringapplications. In some cases, a monitoring application should only be runin a mobile AP, while in others only in a fixed AP, and in someinstances, in any type of AP (i.e., either mobile or fixed).

The type of contacts may be a further particularity or context variablethat affects management of monitoring applications. In accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure, some monitoring applicationsmay run only when the network element (e.g., mobile AP) in which themonitoring application is running is in contact (i.e., able tocommunicate) with a specific sensor or another network element (e.g.,mobile/fixed AP).

The type of technology (e.g., communication technology) may be aparticularity or context variable that affects management of monitoringapplications. For example, it may be the case that a particularmonitoring application should run only when the network element (e.g.,mobile AP) in which the monitoring application is running is using aspecific communication technology (e.g., DSRC, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wi-Fi,etc.) to contact (i.e., wirelessly communicate) with any specific sensoror another network element (e.g., a mobile AP or fixed AP).

The type of vehicle in which a monitoring application may be run may bean additional particularity or context variable that affects themanagement of monitoring applications. For example, the various types ofvehicles in which a network element capable of running monitoringapplications may have different monitoring requirements. The monitoringrequirements of a vehicle of a first responder (e.g., ambulance, firetruck, police car) may be quite different than that of a taxi, a train,a truck, and/or an autonomous vehicle, which may, at different points intime, perform the roles of many of the different vehicle examples listedhere, and would therefore be best served by monitoring applicationstailored to the role in which the autonomous vehicle is operating.

The example illustrated in FIG. 8 also includes a system resources 810component that includes several local system resources including systemdata 811, system physical (PHY) resources 812, system communication(comm) resources 813, and system applications (apps) 814. The localsystem resources 810 can influence decisions regarding changes in theconfiguration of the network element (e.g., mobile AP or fixed AP) andthe mode or priority of each software application running on the networkelement, and can also be reconfigured and/or adapted to support theorchestration of all of the monitoring applications that run on the samenetwork element (e.g., mobile or fixed AP).

The system data 811 resource may include data such as, for example,routing and neighbor tables, the number of users connected, informationprovided by vehicle sensors or interfaces (e.g., vehicle sensorsaccessed via OBD2) and/or “on-board” sensors that may be a part ofand/or connected to the network element (e.g., mobile AP) that isinstalled in the vehicle (e.g., on-board GNSS/GPS receiver,accelerometer, vibration sensor, etc.).

The system physical (PHY) resources 812 may include resources such as,for example, network element information about CPU load, the amount ofmemory available to store data, the number of writes of data to thememory of the network element, the size of any log files stored on thenetwork element, the amount of bandwidth available for each datacommunication technology (e.g., Wi-Fi, DSRC, cellular, Zigbee), and anindication of the mean number of requests of each software applicationof, for example, a mobile AP or fixed AP, to use a certain amount ofsystem PHY resources 812.

The system communication resources 813 of FIG. 8 may include, forexample, information that identifies the communication technologies thatare available on the network element for use in acquiring data fromsensors (e.g., Ethernet, DSRC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.), thecommunication technologies that are available for use insending/receiving data to/from the Cloud (e.g., cellular, DSRC, Wi-Fi),and/or the communication technologies/interfaces that are available toprovide Wi-Fi access to clients/customers/users.

The system applications 814 of FIG. 8 may include, for example,indications of which software application is responsible to get datafrom the GNSS/GPS receiver(s), which software application is responsiblefor interfacing with a vehicle interface (e.g., an OBD/OBD2 interface),and/or which connection manager or software application is responsiblefor enforcing specific configurations on the network element (e.g.,mobile AP), etc.

The monitoring manager 820 component of FIG. 8 is responsible formanaging all of the monitoring appls 840 previously described above. Asillustrated in FIG. 8, the monitoring manager 820 includes a datamanager 821 that is responsible for the management of the system data811, a resource manager 822 that is responsible for the management ofthe system PHY resources 812, a communications manager 823 that isresponsible for the management of the system comm resources 813, and aninter-communication manager 824 that is responsible for the managementof the system apps 814. The operation of the monitoring manager 820 willbe described in detail below, with reference to FIG. 9, whichillustrates an example flow of operations involved in running a networkelement (e.g., a mobile AP) to effectively manage all of the monitoringapplications 8409.

In a network of moving things according to various aspects of thepresent disclosure, monitoring applications such as the monitoring apps840 described above may reside on the system (e.g., network element, NU,MAP, FAP) where other services and applications from different clientsand end-users may also be running. Therefore, it is desirable to controland manage access to and use of the system resources 810 of FIG. 8(i.e., system data 811, system PHY resources 812, system comm resources813, and system apps 814) among those applications, includingsharing/scheduling the resources among the software applications of theclients/customers/users. This allocation of resources based on prioritymay result in the assignment of a priority to an application to allowthat application to run before, or with priority over other softwareapplication(s), when all of the other software application(s)s requiremore resources than are available in the network element (e.g., mobileAP). Also, when a particular software application is triggered by morethan one source of information 831, or is being affected by more thanone type of context 832, the algorithms/decision functions used toselect when and how to adapt the configuration, mode of operation,and/or the resources assigned to each software application may take intoaccount the results of calculating a weighted cost function that factorsin heuristics/policies derived from the type of context 832 and sourcesof information 831. In accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure, those algorithms/decision functions may be triggered basedon actions or outputs of the configuration module 826 and/or thepriority module 825, and the software, logic, and/or circuitry of anetwork element (e.g., a mobile AP) may then conclude that, for example,the impact of an obstruction blocking LOS communication on thede-activation (i.e., turning-off) of a software application may be smallwhen compared to the impact of the speed of the vehicle in which thenetwork element (e.g., mobile AP) is installed, or the impact of thenumber of neighboring network elements. In accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure, the percentage of resources assignedto each monitoring application may be derived from a probabilistic costfunction based on the different levels of each type of context 832 orthe different availability of each source of information 831. Inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a highpriority may automatically be assigned to critical applications. Thefollowing discussion provides descriptions of some thepolicies/heuristics that may be managed, weighted, and/or triggered bythe configuration module 826 and/or the priority module 825.

The policies of a data manager in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure such as, for example, the data manager 821 of FIG. 8may control and prioritize access to the information in, for example,the routing/neighbor tables discussed above, when there are multiplesoftware applications on a network element (e.g., mobile AP or fixedAP), so that critical applications 841 are given high priority overother software applications. In addition, the duration of the access orthe granularity of the data accessed from an “onboard” sensor (e.g.,OBD2 interface, GNSS/GPS receiver, accelerometer, and/or vibrationsensor) may be reduced, or access may be curtailed or avoided, whenthere is an accident involving the vehicle carrying the network element(e.g., a mobile AP of a vehicle with a human operator or that of anautonomous vehicle). In some instances, surveying apps 843 may only runwhen the number of users connected to the network element (e.g., mobileAP) is below a certain threshold number.

The policies of a resource manager in accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure such as, for example, the resource manager 822 ofFIG. 8 may give critical applications 841 priority over softwareapplications that store events (e.g., event apps 842) or perform surveys(e.g., surveying apps 843). A surveying application may, for example, berequired to limit the amount of processing power (e.g., CPU clockcycles/CPU time/CPU instructions/load) used/consumed, and/or may berequired to limit memory (e.g., disk, flash memory, read/write memory)space used to stored data in the network element (e.g., mobile AP) toless than a certain amount, and/or may be required to limit thegeneration of logs/records to be less than or equal to a certain size. Asurveying application according to aspects of the present disclosuremay, for example, be required to limit the amount of communicationbandwidth consumed.

The policies of a communication manager in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure such as, for example, thecommunication manager 823 of FIG. 8 may allow an event-based orsurveying-based software application (e.g., event apps 842 or surveyingapps 843) to send data to the Cloud only via a particular communicationtechnology (e.g., DSRC, Wi-Fi, cellular) in a particular way (e.g., adelay-tolerant fashion), while critical applications such as, forexample, critical applications 841 may be permitted to use a designatedcommunication technology (e.g., a cellular communication link) to senddata in real-time. In some instances, a surveying application (e.g.,surveying apps 843) may be permitted to use only a particularcommunication technology (e.g., a Wi-Fi link) when the number of usersconnected to the network element (e.g., a mobile AP) is below a certainthreshold. In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,critical applications such as critical apps 841 may deactivate (i.e.,turn-off) communications with sensors via one or more communicationtechnologies (e.g., Ethernet, DSRC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, etc.) if aproblem in the network is detected.

The policies of an inter-communication manager in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure such as, for example, theinter-communication manager 824 of FIG. 8 may automatically activate anddeactivate (i.e., turn-on/turn-off) surveying applications such as, forexample, the surveying apps 843 of FIG. 8, when a vehicle with thenetwork element (e.g., a mobile AP) travels through a specificgeographic region or location based on, for example, geo-locationinformation received from a GNSS/GPS receiver. In accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure, the configurations of thesurveying applications (e.g., the type(s) and amount(s) of data theystore) may be adapted/adjusted based on the memory capacity andcommunication technologies available, and/or by decisions of aconnection manager. The rate or number of retries involved in generatinga given event may decay based on the lifetime of the event.

FIGS. 9A-9B are a flowchart illustrating an example process of managingmonitoring applications in a network element such as, for example, amobile AP, fixed AP, or mobility controller, in accordance with variousaspects of the present disclosure. The actions of FIG. 9 may beperformed by the elements of FIG. 8, and begin at block 910 of FIG. 9A.

At block 910, a monitoring manager of a network element such as, forexample, the monitoring manager 820 of the NU 724 of FIG. 7 (e.g., amobile AP) may determine whether there are resources needed by andavailable or use by a monitoring application on the NU 724. Suchresources may include, by way of example and not limitation, availabledata storage capacity (read/write storage e.g., static/dynamic RAM,flash memory, solid state or physical magnetic disk), available wirelesscommunication bandwidth (e.g., DSRC, Wi-Fi, cellular, etc.)). Then, atblock 912, the monitoring manager 820 may pass control to block 914 ifthere are no resources available on the NU 724, or may pass control toblock 918, described below, if it is determined that resources areavailable on the NU 724. At block 914, the method of FIGS. 9A-9B maydeactivate (i.e., turn-off) surveying apps such as, for example, thesurveying apps 843 of FIG. 8, and then, at block 916, the monitoringmanager 820 may reduce the production of logs by event apps such as, forexample, the event apps 842 of FIG. 8, as described above. The method ofFIGS. 9A-9B may then pass control to block 918.

At block 918, the method of FIGS. 9A-9B may determine whether a sourceof information (e.g., source of information 831 of FIG. 8) withsufficiently high priority to run a monitoring app (e.g., monitoringapps 840) or to trigger a new configuration of such an app for others,has been detected and/or is available. At block 920, the monitoringmanager performing the method of FIGS. 9A-9B may transfer control toblock 924, if it was found, at block 918, that no high priority sourceof information is available. However, if it was determined, at block918, that a high priority source of information is available, the methodof FIGS. 9A-9B may then pass control to block 922, where the method maydirect the monitoring manager (e.g., monitoring manager 820) to changeaccess rules to the sources of information, and the process of FIGS.9A-9B may then continue at block 924.

At block 924, the method of FIG. 9A-9B may direct the monitoring managerto determine whether the NU (e.g., mobile AP (MAP)) has new contextsources available. Next, at block 926, the method may pass control backto block 910, described above, if no new context sources are availableto the NU. If, however, it was determined at block 924 that new contentsources are available to the monitoring manager of the NU, the method ofFIGS. 9A-9B may then pass control to block 928, at which the monitoringmanager may run functions/algorithms that affect the adaptation of thesystem resources (e.g., system data 811, system PHY resources 812,system comm resources 813, system apps 814). Control may then continueat block 930, at which the monitoring manager of the NU may enforce thepolicies stored in the NU, based on the outputs of thefunctions/algorithms run at block 928. The method of FIGS. 9A-9B maythen pass control back to block 910, described above.

Various aspects of the present disclosure may be seen in a method ofmanaging a plurality of software applications configured to perform, ona node of a wireless network comprising a plurality of nodes, monitoringof various aspects of the operation of the node. Such a method maycomprise determining a current operating context of the node usinginformation sources communicatively coupled to the node and datarepresentative of one or more types of context in which the node isoperable. The method may also comprise adjusting a respective priorityof each of the one or more software applications, according to thedetermined current operating context. The method may further compriserequiring a first software application of the plurality of softwareapplications running on the node at a respective first priority to limitusage of at least one resource of the node, based on execution of asecond software application of the plurality of software applications onthe node at a respective second priority, according to the determinedcurrent operating context and a respective application type assigned tothe first software application and the second software application. Eachtype of context of the one or more types of context may comprise one ormore context variables that define a particular aspect of operation ofthe node when operating according to the type of context. Theinformation sources may comprise a sensor of an environment external toa vehicle in which the node is located, and the information sources maycomprise information sources of a vehicle in which the node is located.The information sources may also comprise sources of information fromone or more systems of an autonomous vehicle in which the node islocated. The method of managing the one or more software applicationsmay be performed by a software application supported by an operatingsystem of the node on which operation of the one or more softwareapplications is supported. The operating system of the node may alsosupport at least one additional software application of a customer of anoperator of the wireless network. The at least one resource of the nodemay comprise one or more of the following: wireless communicationcapacity of the node, data storage capacity of the node, and computingcapacity of the node.

Additional aspects of the present disclosure may be found in anon-transitory, computer-readable medium on which is stored a pluralityof code sections, wherein each code section comprises a plurality ofinstructions executable by one or more processors. The plurality ofexecutable instructions may cause the one or more processors to performthe steps of a method of managing a plurality of software applicationsconfigured to perform, on a node of a wireless network comprising aplurality of nodes, monitoring of various aspects of the operation ofthe node, where the steps of the method may be as described above.

Further aspects of the present disclosure may be observed in a systemfor managing a plurality of software applications configured to perform,on a node of a wireless network comprising a plurality of nodes,monitoring of various aspects of the operation of the node. Such asystem may comprise one or more processors operably coupled to storagefor data and for instructions executable by the one or more processors.The one or more processors may be operably coupled to one or moreinterfaces for communicating wirelessly via the wireless network, andthe one or more processors may be operable to, at least, executeinstructions that cause the one or more processors to perform, on thenode, the steps of a method such as the method described above.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, systemsand methods are provided that manage a vehicle communication network,for example in accordance with the location of nodes and end devices, ina way that provides for stable TCP/IP Internet access, among otherthings. For example, an end user may be provided with a clean and stableWi-Fi Internet connection that may appear to the end user to be the sameas the Wi-Fi Internet connection at the user's home, user's workplace,fixed public Wi-Fi hotspots, etc. For example, for a user utilizing acommunication network as described herein, a TCP session may stayactive, downloads may process normally, calls may proceed withoutinterruption, etc. As discussed herein, a vehicle communication networkin accordance with various aspects of this disclosure may be applied asa transport layer for regular Internet traffic and/or for privatenetwork traffic (e.g., extending the access of customer private LANsfrom the wired network to vehicles and users around them, etc.).

In accordance with an example network implementation, although a usermight be always connected to a single Wi-Fi AP of a vehicle, the vehicle(or the access point thereof, for example an OBU) is moving betweenmultiple access points (e.g., Fixed APs, other Mobile APs, cellular basestations, fixed Wi-Fi hotspots, etc.). For example, mobility managementimplemented in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosuresupports the mobility of each vehicle and its users across differentcommunication technologies (e.g., 802.11p, cellular, Wi-Fi, etc.) as theMobile APs migrate among Fixed APs (and/or Mobile APs) and/or as usersmigrate between Mobile APs.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, a mobilitycontroller (MC), which may also be referred to as an LMA or NetworkController, may monitor the location (e.g., network location, etc.) ofvarious nodes (e.g., Mobile APs, etc.) and/or the location of end usersconnected through them. The mobility controller (MC) may, for example,provide seamless handovers (e.g., maintaining communication sessioncontinuity) between different access points and/or differenttechnologies with low link latency and low handover times.

The architecture provided herein is scalable, for example takingadvantage of redundant elements and/or functionality to provideload-balancing of control and/or data communication functionality, aswell as to decrease failure probability. Various aspects of the presentdisclosure also provide for decreased control signaling (e.g., in amountand/or frequency), which reduces the control overhead and reduces thesize of control tables and tunneling, for example both in backendservers and in APs (e.g., Fixed APs and/or Mobile APs).

Additionally, a communication network (or components thereof) inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure may comprise theability to interact with mobile devices in order to control some or allof their connection choices and/or to leverage their controlfunctionality. For example, in an example implementation, a mobileapplication can run in the background, managing the available networksand/or nodes thereof and selecting the one that best fits, and thentriggering a handoff to the selected network (or node thereof) beforebreakdown of the current connection.

The communication network (or components thereof) is also configurable,according to the infrastructure requirements and/or mobility needs ofeach client, etc. For example, the communication network (or componentsthereof) may comprise the capability to support different Layer 2 (L2)or Layer 3 (L3) implementations, or combinations thereof, as well asIPv4/IPv6 traffic.

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, examples of thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,192, titled “CommunicationNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, the networksand/or components thereof presented herein are provided with systems andmethods for integrating such networks and/or components with othernetworks and systems, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/221,997, titled “IntegratedCommunication Network for A Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for synchronizing such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,016, titled “Systems and Methods forSynchronizing a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,042, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for monitoring such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,066, titled “Systems and Methods forMonitoring a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for detecting and/or classifying anomalies insuch networks and/or components, non-limiting examples of which areprovided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,077, titled“Systems and Methods for Detecting and Classifying Anomalies in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing mobility in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,098, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Mobility in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing connectivity in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,121, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Connectivity a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for collecting sensor data in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,135, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Collecting Sensor Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep.22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for interfacing with such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,145, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Interfacing with a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for interfacing with a user of such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,150, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Interfacing with a User of a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for data storage and processing in such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,168, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Data Storage and Processing for a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for vehicle traffic management in such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,183, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Vehicle Traffic Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for environmental management in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,186, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Environmental Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing port or shipping operation in suchnetworks and/or components, non-limiting examples of which are providedin U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,190, titled “Systems andMethods for Port Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of positioning orlocation information based at least in part on historical data,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/244,828, titled “Utilizing Historical Data toCorrect GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of position or locationof positioning or location information based at least in part on theutilization of anchors, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/244,930, titled “Using Anchorsto Correct GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing communication between applications,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/246,368, titled “Systems and Methods forInter-Application Communication in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onOct. 26, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for probing, analyzing and/or validatingcommunication, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/246,372, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Probing and Validating Communication in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Oct. 26, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for adapting communication rate, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/250,544, titled “Adaptive Rate Control for Vehicular Networks,” filedon Nov. 4, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for reconfiguring and adapting hardware,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/273,878, titled “Systems and Methods forReconfiguring and Adapting Hardware in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for optimizing the gathering of data, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/253,249, titled “Systems and Methods for Optimizing Data Gathering ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 10, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing delay tolerant networking,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/257,421, titled “Systems and Methods for DelayTolerant Networking in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 19,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for improving the coverage and throughput ofmobile access points, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/265,267, titled “Systems andMethods for Improving Coverage and Throughput of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 9, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for coordinating channel utilization, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/270,858, titled “Channel Coordination in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for implementing a network coded mesh network in thenetwork of moving things, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,854, titled “Systems andMethods for Network Coded Mesh Networking in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Nov. 20, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for improving the coverage of fixed access points,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/260,749, titled “Systems and Methods forImproving Fixed Access Point Coverage in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Nov. 30, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing mobility controllers and their networkinteractions, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,715, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Mobility Controllers and Their Network Interactions in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for managing and/or triggering handovers ofmobile access points, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/281,432, titled “Systems andMethods for Managing and Triggering Handovers of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan. 21, 2016, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing captive portal-related control andmanagement, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/268,188, titled “CaptivePortal-related Control and Management in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 16, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for extrapolating high-value data, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/270,678, titled “Systems and Methods to Extrapolate High-Value Datafrom a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing remote software updating anddistribution, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/272,750, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Remote Software Update and Distribution in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing remote configuration updating anddistribution, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,662, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Remote Configuration Update and Distribution in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Jan. 14, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for adapting the network, for exampleautomatically, based on user feedback, non-limiting examples of whichare provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,243, titled“Systems and Methods for Adapting a Network of Moving Things Based onUser Feedback,” filed on Jan. 22, 2016, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing and/or guaranteeing data integritywhen building or performing data analytics, non-limiting examples ofwhich are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,764,titled “Systems and Methods to Guarantee Data Integrity When BuildingData Analytics in a Network of Moving Things,” Jan. 14, 2016, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing self-initialization and/or automatedbootstrapping of mobile access points, non-limiting examples of whichare provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,515, titled“Systems and Methods for Self-Initialization and Automated Bootstrappingof Mobile Access Points in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan.25, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing power supply and/or utilization,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/295,602, titled “Systems and Methods for PowerManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for automating and easing the installation and setupof the infrastructure, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/299,269, titled “Systems andMethods for Automating and Easing the Installation and Setup of theInfrastructure Supporting a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 24,2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In summary, various aspects of this disclosure provide communicationnetwork architectures, systems and methods for supporting a network ofmobile nodes, for example comprising a combination of mobile andstationary nodes. As a non-limiting example, various aspects of thisdisclosure provide communication network architectures, systems, andmethods for supporting a dynamically configurable communication networkcomprising a complex array of both static and moving communication nodes(e.g., the Internet of moving things). While the foregoing has beendescribed with reference to certain aspects and examples, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be madeand equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope ofthe disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosurewithout departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that thedisclosure not be limited to the particular example(s) disclosed, butthat the disclosure will include all examples falling within the scopeof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of managing a plurality of softwareapplications configured to perform, on a node of a wireless networkcomprising a plurality of nodes, monitoring of various aspects of theoperation of the node, the method comprising: determining a currentoperating context of the node using information sources communicativelycoupled to the node and data representative of one or more types ofcontext in which the node is operable; adjusting a respective priorityof each of the one or more software applications, according to thedetermined current operating context; and requiring a first softwareapplication of the plurality of software applications running on thenode at a respective first priority to limit usage of at least oneresource of the node, based on execution of a second softwareapplication of the plurality of software applications on the node at arespective second priority, according to the determined currentoperating context and a respective application type assigned to thefirst software application and the second software application.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein each type of context of the one ormore types of context comprises one or more context variables thatdefine a particular aspect of operation of the node when operatingaccording to the type of context.
 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein the information sources comprise a sensor of an environmentexternal to a vehicle in which the node is located.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the information sources compriseinformation sources of a vehicle in which the node is located.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the information sources comprisesources of information from one or more systems of an autonomous vehiclein which the node is located.
 6. The method according to claim 1,wherein the method of managing the one or more software applications isperformed by a software application supported by an operating system ofthe node on which operation of the one or more software applications issupported.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the operatingsystem of the node also supports at least one additional softwareapplication of a customer of an operator of the wireless network.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the at least one resource of thenode comprises one or more of the following: wireless communicationcapacity of the node, data storage capacity of the node, and computingcapacity of the node.
 9. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium onwhich is stored a plurality of code sections, wherein each code sectioncomprises a plurality of instructions executable by one or moreprocessors to cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of amethod of managing a plurality of software applications configured toperform, on a node of a wireless network comprising a plurality ofnodes, monitoring of various aspects of the operation of the node, themethod comprising: determining a current operating context of the nodeusing information sources communicatively coupled to the node and datarepresentative of one or more types of context in which the node isoperable; adjusting a respective priority of each of the one or moresoftware applications, according to the determined current operatingcontext; and requiring a first software application of the plurality ofsoftware applications running on the node at a respective first priorityto limit usage of at least one resource of the node, based on executionof a second software application of the plurality of softwareapplications on the node at a respective second priority, according tothe determined current operating context and a respective applicationtype assigned to the first software application and the second softwareapplication.
 10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium accordingto claim 9, wherein each type of context of the one or more types ofcontext comprises one or more context variables that define a particularaspect of operation of the node when operating according to the type ofcontext.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according toclaim 9, wherein the information sources comprise a sensor of anenvironment external to a vehicle in which the node is located.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9, whereinthe information sources comprise information sources of a vehicle inwhich the node is located.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium according to claim 12, wherein the information sources comprisesources of information from one or more systems of an autonomous vehiclein which the node is located.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium according to claim 9, wherein the method of managing the one ormore software applications is performed by a software applicationsupported by an operating system of the node on which operation of theone or more software applications is supported.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the operatingsystem of the node also supports at least one additional softwareapplication of a customer of an operator of the wireless network. 16.The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9,wherein the at least one resource of the node comprises one or more ofthe following: wireless communication capacity of the node, data storagecapacity of the node, and computing capacity of the node.
 17. A systemfor managing a plurality of software applications configured to perform,on a node of a wireless network comprising a plurality of nodes,monitoring of various aspects of the operation of the node, the systemcomprising: one or more processors operably coupled to storage for dataand for instructions executable by the one or more processors, andoperably coupled to one or more interfaces for communicating wirelesslyvia the wireless network, the one or more processors operable to, atleast: determine a current operating context of the node usinginformation sources communicatively coupled to the node and datarepresentative of one or more types of context in which the node isoperable; adjust a respective priority of each of the one or moresoftware applications, according to the determined current operatingcontext; and require a first software application of the plurality ofsoftware applications running on the node at a respective first priorityto limit usage of at least one resource of the node, based on executionof a second software application of the plurality of softwareapplications on the node at a respective second priority, according tothe determined current operating context and a respective applicationtype assigned to the first software application and the second softwareapplication.
 18. The system according to claim 17, wherein each type ofcontext of the one or more types of context comprises one or morecontext variables that define a particular aspect of operation of thenode when operating according to the type of context.
 19. The systemaccording to claim 17, wherein the information sources comprise a sensorof an environment external to a vehicle in which the node is located.20. The system according to claim 17, wherein the information sourcescomprise information sources of a vehicle in which the node is located.21. The system according to claim 17, wherein the information sourcescomprise sources of information from one or more systems of anautonomous vehicle in which the node is located.
 22. The systemaccording to claim 17, wherein the method of managing the one or moresoftware applications is performed by a software application running onan operating system of the node on which operation of the one or moresoftware applications is supported.
 23. The system according to claim22, wherein the operating system of the node also supports at least oneadditional software application of a customer of an operator of thewireless network.
 24. The system according to claim 17, wherein the atleast one resource of the node comprises one or more of the following:wireless communication capacity of the node, data storage capacity ofthe node, and computing capacity of the node.